A report out of Italy commenting on Juventus’ pursuit of Franck Kessie has suggested Tottenham will be ready to step up talks to sign the Barcelona player when they travel to Spain next week and use the lure of the Premier League to win the race.
After just 12 months with Barcelona, it appears Franck Kessie is being moved on this summer. The Ivorian joined the Catalan club on a free transfer from AC Milan last summer, but has already fallen out of favour with Xavi Hernandez and has been deemed surplus to requirements.
The La Liga champions are keen to free up space in their salary budget and the availability of Kessie is thought to have piqued the interest of both Tottenham and Juventus (Sport 30/07/23 via Sport Witness).
Earlier this week, Mundo Deportivo reported that Spurs getting involved in the race has changed things and that a departure for Kessie could be close. Barca and Juventus had failed to reach any agreement at that stage.
Tottenham will talk about Kessie next week
Now, according to the latest from CalcioMercato, it is claimed that while Juventus had made some progress in reaching an agreement with Barcelona, Spurs are now planning to hold talks about Kessie while they are in Spain next week and are ready to ‘welcome’ the midfielder to the Premier League.
Apparently, Juventus had found common ground with the Spanish outfit regarding a loan deal with an obligation to buy clause worth around €15m (£12.9m). However, Kessie himself would prefer to play in the Premier League than return to Italy.
With this in mind, Tottenham plan to use their upcoming friendly with Barcelona next week as a way to “deepen the talks” between the two clubs regarding Kessie’s proposed switch.
It seems the Lilywhites are now “ready to welcome” the 26-year-old to the club and progress on the deal could “come to life” very soon.
Spurs Web Opinion
The ball appears to be entirely in Tottenham’s court here. Kessie wants to play in England, we are seemingly willing to buy him outright, which will suit Barcelona, and we are over there next week anyway so should be able to get negotiations moving fairly quickly.
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