View: Everton should re-ignite pursuit of Franck Kessie amid contract development
There has been a big development in the contract situation of AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, who was a reported Everton target in 2020.
Kessie, 24, has turned down the Italian giants’ latest contract offer, worth around £5.6million per year [La Gazzetta dello Sport via Mirror].
The Ivory Coast international’s current Milan deal expires in the summer of 2022, which means he will be available to sign on a free next year.
This may be a development that interests Everton.
The Blues were named as frontrunners to sign him in July 2020 [Tuttosport] with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm.
However, a move never transpired despite heavy summer speculation, and he remained at the San Siro.
But it looks like the penalty expert, dubbed an “extraordinary player with sublime intelligence” [Goal] by Serie A legend Vincenzo Montella in September 2017, could be on his way out of Milan and potentially Italy next year.
While it may have been Ancelotti’s preference to sign someone he had watched in close quarters during his time in charge at Napoli, making a move for Kessie could be a wise decision from the Blues board and current boss Rafa Benitez.
Everton currently have Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure patrolling the midfield, but they are both on the wrong side of 28 and are likely coming towards the end of their peak.
Kessie, on the other hand, is only just beginning his.
The Ivorian is exactly what the Blues need – an energetic and technically gifted midfielder who knows where the goal is.
Sure, penalties may be a big contributor, but a tally of 13 Serie A goals last season is no mean feat.
Indeed, he has scored at least five Serie A goals in four of the last five campaigns for Milan and Atalanta.
If he can be brought in for a small fee in January, or on a free for the summer, the Blues should be all over it.
In other Everton news, a world-famous international player has called this Blues star a ‘clown’ on Instagram.
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