Conflicting rumours continue to emerge on the future of FC Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie. The 26-year-old signed for the club only last year but did not have it easy in his debut campaign, with regular game-time not forthcoming.
And with Barça needing to make sales to resolve their Financial Fair Play situation, Kessie’s name has been linked with a summer exit from Catalonia.
But reports earlier suggested that incoming sporting director Deco valued the 26-year-old a great deal and does not wish to sell him this summer unless there is an extraordinary offer.
Despite that, though, MARCA is now reporting that Barcelona’s La Liga rivals, Atletico Madrid, are weighing up a summer move for Kessie as they look to reinforce their midfield unit.
The Rojiblancos are likely to part ways with two midfielders this summer in the form of Saul Niguez and Geoffrey Kondogbia. Furthermore, with Koke not getting any younger, they wish to bolster their options in the centre of the park.
As such, Atletico Madrid have identified two options in the form of Kessie and PSG superstar Marco Verratti.
Los Colchoneros understand that the operation will be difficult but given Kessie’s situation at Barcelona, they are hopeful of convincing him to make the switch.
After all, the Ivorian, whose market value is €25 million, is already behind Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, and Gavi in the pecking order and could fall a rung lower with the imminent addition of Ilkay Gundogan.
And with Barcelona needing to lower their wage bill, the report states that they could open the doors for his exit. Furthermore, it is claimed that Kessie would welcome the opportunity to join Atletico Madrid if he were to leave the La Liga champions this summer.
With conflicting claims doing the rounds over Kessie’s future, it will be interesting to see how the situation resolves itself in the coming weeks.
