Barcelona are reportedly a step closer to signing Milan midfielder Franck Kessie on a free transfer.
The 25-year-old Ivorian’s contract expires with the Rossoneri at the end of this season and he will not renew his deal after demanding more than the club were willing to offer. Paolo Maldini is not afraid of letting players leave on a free transfer, as seen with Gianluigi Donnarumma’s departure last summer.
As reported by Sport, Barcelona have been in talks with Kessie’s entourage for a while and they’ve recently narrowed the gap between the player’s demands and their offer, wanting to try and speed up negotiations a little.
The Blaugrana are wary of the large amount of interest in the Ivorian midfielder and so they’re reportedly hoping to tie things up soon. This report directly contradicts one that came from Spain last month, which said that the Catalan side had decided to pull out of the race for the player.
Kessie has made 26 appearances across all competitions so far this season, for a total of 1829 minutes. In that time, he’s scored six goals and provided one assist.