With Moussa Dembele and Victor Wanyama still injured, Spurs are very much on the eye out for a new tough, powerful midfielder to take on their mantle, as they battle to stay in the title race with Man City and Liverpool.
Franck Kessie may well be that midfielder. The AC Milan and Ivory Coast international has developed into a real heavyweight in the Italian league after two seasons in Milan and one in Atalanta before that.
But Spurs could face a challenge for the Ivorian’s signature, with Chelsea also interested. And reports in HITC suggest Chelsea may have an upper hand in any negotiations.
Chelsea midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko is currently on loan at AC Milan, and the Blues are confident that they could use him as a makeweight in any deal for Kessie. With Kessie valued by Milan at around £40 million, and Bakayoko having joined Chelsea from Monaco for the same fee, a swap deal could make sense all around.
Spurs on the other hand, despite having not spent in the summer, are still operating on a limited budget. What appears likely is that a few fringe players will have to leave before they have any significant money to spend.
However, Mauricio Pochettino will have identified his midfield as an area that could be strengthened and he may just be able to convince Daniel Levy that it’s worth spending on a player like Kessie to do that.
Either way, it seems Kessie could be in London before long – the question is whether he goes North or West.
