The Lilywhites could be set to help one of their new summer signings acclimatise.
Tottenham Hotspur could be set to bolster their midfield tenfold with a swoop from a European heavyweight…
How much would Franck Kessie cost?
That’s according to Spanish outlet Sport, who suggest that the north London club have warned Barcelona that they will bid for Franck Kessie soon.
However, such a swoop hinges massively on the future of talismanic striker Harry Kane, who does seem increasingly incensed to leave as Bayern Munich, and more recently Paris Saint-Germain step up their pursuit.
The lack of game time the Ivorian has been promised has seen him seek a Camp Nou exit, and Spurs’ new boss Ange Postecoglou could present a fine escape to reignite a career that once promised much.
The Catalonian outfit are expecting a bid from the Lilywhites, with it reported earlier this month that they would accept a fee of around €30m (£26m). He still has three years left on his £149k-per-week deal.
How good is Franck Kessie?
To welcome such a tireless, unrelenting presence into their midfield would be to inject some much-needed physicality to help gain further control as the new Premier League season nears.
However, the 26-year-old machine blends such energy with far more attacking impetus than others, as to align with Postecoglou’s all-action style more appropriately.
Having only made seven starts in LaLiga last year, it is worth taking his final year in Italy as the true benchmark for what kind of player a side would be gaining with his acquisition.
During the 2021/22 Serie A campaign, where his AC Milan outfit would win the title, the midfield general maintained a 7.07 average rating, buoyed by his six goals, 88% pass accuracy, an 18% goal conversion rate, 0.9 key passes and 1.3 tackles per game, via Sofascore.
For comparison, his conversion rate even surpassed that of Heung-min Son last season.
With an ability to quell attacks, but the pace, power and technique to arrive late and thunder home chances, he could easily be moulded into a perfect midfielder to underpin Postecoglou’s philosophy.
After all, his desperation to offload Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg outlines this, as he seeks dynamism over the slow and steady control that the Denmark international offers.
Should he secure a move for Kessie, it could actually have a supplementary effect on the rest of the team, helping the system thrive and those within it.
New summer signing James Maddison in particular would benefit from his engine room impetus, as a tricky creative threat looking to establish himself as one of the best in his role in the division, having made the step up to a far bigger stage this summer.
He traded Leicester City for Spurs in a £40m move, fresh from his outstanding year despite their relegation.
His ten goals and nine assists showcased a fine attacking midfielder capable of improving many teams, yet his presence with a weaker side has halted him from being mentioned in the conversations involving Kevin De Bruyne and Martin Odegaard.
That is likely due to the huge amount of quality those two have featured alongside for many years now, which in turn helps their game thrive.
Last season saw Arsenal’s captain record 15 goals and a further eight assists, only narrowly surpassing Maddison’s goal contributions tally for the year. Despite that, it was he who was branded as “number one” by pundit Jamie Redknapp, pondering who the best midfielder in the Premier League was.
He would only maintain 2.1 key passes per game last term in the league, whilst the England international instead posted 2.3 per game – it is clear that the quality of teammates plays a huge role in this contest.
To now place Maddison alongside Harry Kane, Son and even Kessie, his figures would surely skyrocket to way surpass that of his Norwegian rival across north London.
After all, former Rossoneri favourite Antonio Cassano outlined the starring attributes of the Barcelona outcast, likening him to a goalscoring Premier League great:
“I want Kessie in my team, he scores, he assists, he has personality, he has quality, he doesn’t lose the ball, he is intelligent. I’m watching him carefully, against Roma he was devastating.
“He reminds me of the Yaya Touré of the best times. He is a different player but in terms of impact, he is holding Milan’s midfield alone.”
With his 6-foot frame and imperious quality in front of goal, pairing him with Maddison would only add to the wealth of attacking talent certain to have him soon involved in that debate for the top creator in the division.
Having left University in 2022, Callum was instantly offered a place within Football FanCast’s academy process, where he was handed a role as part of the freelance opinions team. This has been his role ever since.
Since then, Callum also took on a role cultivating content for the website’s Facebook account too, helping to bolster the reach of Football FanCast.
Callum is a huge Everton fan and has written and featured on numerous fan sites talking about the club.
