Liverpool have been heavily linked with AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie this season as the Ivorian’s contract enters its final six months and the Reds might finally be about to make the big step towards signing him after months and months of speculation.
Georginio Wijnaldum left Liverpool in the summer after FSG refused to match his contract extension demands and while he was expected to move to Barcelona, PSG gazumped the Catalonians with a much bigger salary offer and he moved to Parc des Princes instead.
Anfield faithful were left frustrated and confused when the reliable and influential Dutch ace wasn’t replaced in the summer given his importance to Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI and you can already tell it’s having a major impact this season.
Liverpool’s system needs defensively sound midfielders to thrive
Liverpool’s system under Klopp relies hugely on the defensive work rate of its no.8s and as we saw with Jordan Henderson ignoring the run of Ademola Lookman against Leicester City when he chose to pass it on to Joel Matip when he should have tracked it himself, Gini is a major miss.
It’s why Thiago Alcantara has been a massive miss against the likes of Spurs and Leicester this season. He’s seen as a player who is capable of pulling the strings from deep, of being that player that can dictate the tempo and use his creativity and incredible technique to go toe to toe with opposition midfiedlers.
And he is but the Spaniard’s defensive work goes unnoticed a lot of the time. In fact, when the former Bayern Munich star has started this season, Liverpool have won 100% of their games but when he hasn’t, they’ve won just 36% of their matches.
Franck Kessie receives ‘very interesting offer’ from Liverpool
The 25-year-old will be out of contract in June and now has just under 6 months remaining on his AC Milan deal. This means the likes of Liverpool are free to talk to him without the need to request permission from the Serie A club.
According to Italian news outlet Ansa, the Reds have made a ‘very interesting offer’ to the no.79, who has been fantastic in both league and Europe for the Rossoneri this season and will be a massive loss if he continues to rebuff their attempts to renew his contract.
There’s no mention of what makes the offer from FSG and the Anfield outfit so enticing but I would love to see Kessie under Klopp as he has the ideal blend of fight and desire to win the ball back and attacking drive which made me love watching Wijnaldum.
Report says FSG were willing to pay massive signing-on bonus
According to a previous report from Spanish outlet El Nacional, Liverpool were willing to make an offer to Kessie of €30million (£25.4m) as a signing on bonus and I wonder if this is the offer that is being referenced by Ansa.
Salary Sport claim he’s on £69,000 per week in Milan and so an increase to £100,000 per week or around that mark would be quite a significant upgrade for the Ivorian especially if you factor in the reported bonus that the Reds are reportedly willing to pay him.
