Aston Villa are looking to strike a deal to bring Barcelona star Franck Kessie to the Premier League ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, according to fresh reports.
Who is Franck Kessie?
Kessie is naturally a central midfielder who has plied his trade at Camp Nou since joining on a free transfer from AC Milan last summer, but his debut season with Xavi’s side didn’t go as well as hoped having failed to receive a consistent run of game time.
In La Liga last term, the 26-year-old made just seven starts and was reduced to being brought on as a substitute on 21 occasions, as per WhoScored, highlighting just how out of favour he is, and he may now have to look elsewhere should he want to get more minutes under his belt moving forward.
The Blaugrana have reportedly been placed under pressure to sell quickly in order to help ease their financial worries and the Ivory Coast international is likely to be one of the players placed in the shop window having been deemed surplus to requirements during his time so far in Spain.
The Midlands outfit have recently announced that Morgan Sanson has joined Ligue 1 outfit Nice on a season-long loan so Unai Emery will need to enter the market to find a suitable replacement, and it sounds like the Ivory Coast talisman has been highlighted as a potential candidate.
Are Aston Villa signing Franck Kessie?
According to reports in Spain (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa are “showing a keen interest” in Kessie and he is indeed a player that Barcelona are “looking to move on” before the end of the transfer window. The Catalans feel that they can demand a “significant amount of money” for the midfielder who has reportedly “already agreed to make a move to England” should he move onto new pastures.
NSWE’s excellent financial backing of their boss so far means that they are definitely “in the mix” to land their target, though it’s not specifically stated how much he would cost.
Aston Villa will know that Kessie wasn’t given a fair chance to prove what he was capable of last season, but having made a hugely positive impact when handed the rare opportunity to showcase his talents, Emery would be acquiring a promising player should he put pen to paper.
The Africa Cup of Nations star, who earns £149k-per-week, posted six goal contributions (three goals and the same number of assists) during his debut campaign at Barcelona, not to mention he also ranked in the 88th percentile for number of attacking touches in the opposition’s penalty area, highlighting his desire to get involved with the action in the final third.
Kessie, who has been dubbed a “warrior” for his mindset and attitude towards the beautiful game by talent scout Jacek Kulig, furthermore has the flexibility to operate in four various roles across the centre of the park and even at centre-back, so he would provide the boss with plenty of versatility and be an all-round exciting midfielder to have in and around the building.
