Al Nassr have joined the race to sign Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie, with Barcelona open to the possibility of the 26-year-old leaving this summer.
Al Hilal reportedly was reportedly ready to make an offer for Kessie several weeks ago, but so far nothing has materialised with the two clubs failing to come to an agreement on the transfer fee.
Now Cristiano Ronaldo’s club are showing interest, having already secured the signing of Croatian star Marcelo Brozović.
As per Mundo Deportivo Barcelona are looking for €20 million in return for Kessie with the Saudi club having offered a deal worth €14 million.
Al Nassr join race to sign Barcelona midfielder
Kessie joined the Catalan club on a free transfer after his deal with AC Milan expired at the end of the 2021 season.
The physical box-to-box midfielder scored in his final game for Milan, helping the team secure the Scudetto title against Sassuolo, but found his first year at Camp Nou difficult.
Although he appeared in 28 games, he found it hard to adapt to the style that Xavi wanted to play.
According to MD Kessie has communicated to the Barca management team that he wants a bigger role this season, with more minutes, something they couldn’t guarantee at the time.
Moving Kessie on would create some room to register other signings for Barca under the La Liga fair play terms, but Joan Laporta won’t sell the midfielder below his value, as he said recently, Barcelona ‘are not a selling club’.
Kessie has communicated to the club that he would be open to leaving if he were to receive an attractive offer, although it’s unclear if the Ivorian has any desire to head to Saudi Arabia.
According to that same report, the midfielder would prefer to stay in Barcelona. But with more competition expected in that midfield area, he may be forced to leave to guarantee more minutes.