Tottenham reignite interest in £220,000-a-week midfielder after summer snub for Barcelona


Tottenham Hotspur are one of three Premier League clubs interested in signing FC Barcelona and Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie, according to reports.

Kessie joined Barcelona on a free transfer last summer following the expiry of his AC Milan contract.

There was a lot of interest in the Ivorian international, with the La Liga giants beating the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham for his signature.

It has not been a bed of roses for Kessie in Catalonia, however.

This season, he has only started twice in the Spanish top flight and three times in the Champions League.

Kessie went into the World Cup break struggling with a thigh injury. Thankfully for him, he did not miss the tournament as Ivory Coast failed to qualify.

He is aiming to be fit to play against Espanyol in Barcelona’s local derby on December 31.

A day later the transfer window will re-open, and there is plenty of interest in the former Milan star.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Fulham, and Inter Milan are interested in a winter transfer.

The report claims that Kessie is fully focused on Barcelona with people close to the player stating he ‘intends’ to stay in Catalonia.

Tottenham have only just re-joined the race to sign the 25-year-old midfielder, with Fabrizio Romano adding them to the mix.

Antonio Conte’s side are ‘keeping track of the player’s situation in Barcelona‘ as they hope to swoop in next month.

It is reiterated that Tottenham made an attempt to sign Kessie in the summer transfer window, so Conte is definitely a fan of the player.

It’s not looking good for the Italian head coach, however, as Kessie is fully focused on becoming a key player for Barca.

Kessie penned a four-year contract when he joined the La Liga side last summer.

As he was a free transfer, he agreed a monstrous deal and is reportedly earning around £220,000 per week.

Barca are still struggling financially and will probably aim to sign more free agents next summer.

They tried to offload their highest earner, Frenkie de Jong, in the summer window, but the player had no desire to leave the club amidst interest from Manchester United.

Milan paid around €32million to sign Kessie in 2019, and given the fact he has only improved since then, Barca would want a considerable fee if they do decide to sell up.

They were willing to let De Jong leave for a fee in the region of €80m and could ask for around €65m for Kessie, which is nothing more than a guesstimate.

Spurs signed Yves Bissouma from Brighton in the summer transfer window and also have Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur.

The latter has been superb since signing from Juventus last winter and is certainly undroppable under Conte.

READ NOW: Johnny Nic’s World Cup media diary – part four: Messi as rat-scuttler, ITV go too ‘jobs for the boys’





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