Allegri would like to have a physical midfielder in his next Juventus: the preferred profile is Franck Kessié of Barcelona.
Jordi Gil, Iberian journalist, spoke to the microphones of calciomercato.it, broadcast on Twitch TVPLAY channel. There is continued talk of a possible Juventus lunge for former Atalanta and AC Milan player Kessié, at the explicit request of Massimiliano Allegri.
“The main problem for Juventus is convincing Kessié, who wants to stay at Barcelona to play his cards with Xavi,” Gil explained. “The Ivorian chose Barcelona for zero after being released by AC Milan and wants to prove he can do well in La Liga. The loan offer with obligation at 15-20 million could be right. But I remember that the midfielder has a €6 million salary, not very affordable for a team that is trying to save money and does not play in the Champions League.”
“For Xavi, Franck Kessié is just a reserve, he does not consider him a starter, even more so after the arrival of Gundogan. So Kessié should put his mind to the bench and accept the situation,” the interviewee continued. “When Kessié sees in his first outings that he is not a starter and at the centre of the project, he will eventually understand that accepting Juventus’ offer is the best thing for everyone. I therefore believe the deal can be done. “
Kessié to Juventus: “The idea of a swap is not likely “
There has been talk of a loan with mandatory redemption conditional on reaching the Champions League or a Kessié plus 25-30 million exchange for Chiesa. But according to Gil, the latter route is not viable. “The Chiesa-Kessie exchange, in the economic situation that Barcelona is in, is not an option. I think it is impossible”.
Former AC Milan player Franck Kessié
The journalist also spoke about the rumours that the Catalans are close to Mbappé: “The Mbappé-Barcelona operation seems to me to be just impossible, rumours that may make Real Madrid nervous, but it is not realistic”. According to the English press, PSG could be open to the loan of the French champion. And several clubs would be interested, including Barcelona and Inter Milan. The Saudis are also moving in on the Frenchman: there is talk of a 300 million offer for PSG and a stratospheric salary for Mbappé.
Returning to the Kessié deal, Gil thinks the negotiation will be long. “In early August the two teams will be back in Europe and it’s easier for them to meet there, on tour they have quite different agendas, plus before trying to close Juventus have to give up. “