Flavor of the month Franck Kessié continues to be linked heavily with Chelsea, with Sky Italia journalist Fabrizio Romano claiming the Blues are “in talks” with the 20-year-old midfielder who’s been one of the biggest breakout stars of the Serie A season.
Chelsea is in talks with #Atalanta for Franck Kessie. Not easy because Atalanta would like to keep him until June. #CFC #Chelsea #transfers
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 3, 2017
The trouble with Kessié, at least in terms of an immediate transfer is his involvement with the Cote d’Ivoire national team for the next month or so at the Africa Cup of Nations, which basically rules out a January move. Then again, that plays into the hands of his current team, who apparently want to keep him through the rest of the season.
Sign and loan back? Would be a classic Chelsea move, a la Kurt Zouma or Kevin De Bruyne.
Another one of Di Marzio’s transfer experts, David Amoyal, recently wrote about the Kessié situation for ESPN, and he claims that with Juventus basically priced out of the hunt, the youngster is almost nailed on for a Premier League move in the upcoming summer transfer window. Yet another incentive for Chelsea to get this done early, if we’re truly interested.