Report: ‘Extraordinary’ midfielder snubbed Tottenham move in January, now he's up for sale for just £8m

By Milo Clay

Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie reportedly snubbed a move to Tottenham Hotspur in January – now Diario AS reports he’s up for sale for just £8 million. 

Spurs were on the lookout for midfield reinforcements just under a year ago and eventually brought in Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus. 

The Uruguayan is proving to be an astute piece of business from Fabio Paratici but the Italian seemingly had his eye on another target at the time. 

Kessie was playing his football with AC Milan and entering the last six-months of his deal with the Italian giants. 

Calciomercato claimed back in January that Antonio Conte saw Kessie as the perfect midfield signing and Paratici had even agreed a deal to bring to north London. But Kessie decided he wanted to stay put and help the Rossoneri claim the Scudetto. 

Of course, Milan went on to win the title and Kessie completed a move to Barcelona on a free transfer. But now he has apparently been put up for sale just a few months after moving to Spain. 

Kessie up for sale

Diario AS reports that Kessie does not feel comfortable at Barca and has barely been used by Xavi Hernandez. 

As a result, the club are now open to selling the 25-year-old and would welcome offers around £8.5 million. 

Barca are yet to receive any kind of proposal for the Ivory Coast midfielder but the outlet notes there is talk of interest from Aston Villa. 

It looked like Barcelona had picked up a bargain after securing the ‘extraordinary’ Kessie on a free transfer. He was one of the standout players in Serie A during Milan’s title-winning season but he just hasn’t found his feet in Spain. 

It’s unclear whether Spurs would be interested in reviving their previous interest in the player, especially after he seemingly turned down the move. 

Tottenham have brought in Bentancur and Yves Bissouma since, two players that are of a similar profile to Kessie. 

The Ivorian would undoubtedly be a good addition for Spurs’ midfield, especially if he could recapture the form that earned him a move to Barca. But Tottenham seem to be more in need of a creative midfielder and Kessie doesn’t fit the bill.