Fulham are reportedly lining up an “irresistible” €22 million offer for Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie, who is poised to make a quick exit from Camp Nou.
According to a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes, Fulham are keen on signing Barcelona fringe star Frank Kessie, who joined the Blaugrana only this past summer but is now linked with a move away from Catalonia. The Cottagers are ready to pay a fee of around €22 million to secure the services of the Ivory Coast midfielder.
The 25-year-old first burst onto the scene at Atalanta before landing a move to AC Milan. He then spent five years with the latter after a two-year loan spell earned him a permanent move to the Italian giants in 2019.
Of course, it is at San Siro where he made a name for himself as a dynamic box-to-box goal-scoring midfielder who can also set the tempo of the game with his accurate passing, intelligent game reading, and physicality.
He went on to make over 170 league appearances for the Rossoneri and became a reliable source of goals from the middle of the park for them, netting an incredible 13 goals during the 2020-21 campaign as he made it into the Serie A Team of the Year. The following year, he helped Milan win the Serie A title, which unsurprisingly attracted a lot of interest from around Europe.
Following the end of his Milan contract in July, the 25-year-old signed a four-year deal with Barcelona. Kessie’s arrival in Spain sparked a lot of excitement, and he was thought to be the long-term replacement for the ageing Sergio Busquets, but he has yet to live up to the hype.
He has been far from impressive so far, with under 400 minutes of football action across all competitions, and is facing an uncertain future at the moment; to the point that he could exit the club as early as January. Boss Xavi Hernandez does not consider him in his plans going forward and wants a new midfielder to replace Busquets, going by Barcelona’s recent links to Jorginho and Bernardo Silva.
Needless to say, there is no shortage of suitors for Kessie, as his stock still remains high, with two Premier League clubs, Aston Villa and Fulham, chasing after his signature.
The Cottagers, for one, are looking to take advantage of the Catalans’ tricky financial situation by making an attractive €22 million bid in the January transfer window.
Marco Silva sees Kessie as someone who can add quality and depth to their midfield options ahead of the second half of the season following the World Cup. New signing Palhinha has been a major hit at Craven Cottage since his arrival last summer, thanks to his all-conquering display.
The Portuguese international is the heartbeat of this side, establishing him as one of the very best defensive midfielders in the Premier League. Fulham look like an inferior team in his absence, and they lack that vital balance.
Singing someone of Kessie’s pedigree would not only cover for that but also add a different dimension to Marco Silva’s side in the No. 8 role. It remains to be seen if Fulham can pull out yet another rabbit from a hat by signing a high-profile talent as Kessie in the upcoming transfer window.
