For a long time, it’s been taken for granted in Italy that Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie would eventually move to Juventus, with the Italian media reporting this week that a deal had already been agreed. However, recent reports indicate that Tottenham are interested in bringing the former AC Milan man to North London.
That’s according to Javi Miguel who confirms that this would be appealing to Barca as they are still open to the possibility of bringing Giovani Lo Celso to Spain if they can’t land #1 target Bernardo Silva.
There are no indications that Tottenham have made contact with the representatives of Franck Kessie, or if Daniel Levy has touched base with Mateu Alemany about the framework of a deal, but this could result in the perfect solution.
Franck Kessie has always preferred England to Italy
The Ivorian midfielder has indicated his preference is to remain at Camp Nou, believing that after spending a year adjusting to Barcelona and La Liga, he’s in a better place to make a difference this year.
However, with the signings of Oriol Romeu and ilkay Gundogan, Kessie knows that securing significant playing time will be difficult this year, especially when you consider the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Pedri.
If he were to leave, it’s believed that he would prefer a move to the Premier League or Bundesliga, and Tottenham represents a good option for the man who made his name in Italy.
There is one obvious problem, Kessie wants European football and neither Juventus nor Tottenham can offer him that in 2023/24. Both teams missed out on qualification. Although both are European mainstays, and if he’s looking past this upcoming season he’ll be confident that either can regain their European spots.
Statement signing is predicated on sales
Barcelona is confident that they can bring in a major signing before the end of the transfer window, but in order to do that they will need one or two players to leave.
Three names have come up continuously in relation to moving on this summer. Kessie is one of them, and Clement Lenglet another Tottenham target is another.
If Barca needs to get both off the books there is certainly a deal to be done there, and if they can convince Tottenham to include the Argentine playmaker Giovani Lo Celso, even better.
Although La Liga kicks off in just a couple of weeks’ time, there is still a month to go in the transfer window, and we’re expecting Barca to be active right up until the end.