What’s the best way to replace Yaya Toure? Buy the new one of course. Although Pep Guardiola could have some competition for Franck Kessie.
The president of Serie A side Atalanta has admitted to L’Eco di Bergamo print edition that he hopes highly-rated midfield prodigy Franck Kessie will remain at the club beyond the January transfer window.
The 19-year-old has exploded onto the scene in Serie A this season, netting four times in the opening five games of 2015/16 despite being deployed primarily in a deeper midfield role and has subsequently earned the admiration of some of Europe’s most prestigious clubs with Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus sending scouts to watch Kessie in action, according to Goal.
The four-time capped Ivory Coast international, dubbed the ‘new Yaya Youre’ due to his stylistic similarities with his veteran countryman, is currently valued at around 15 million euros, according to Football Italia, but the fee is unlikely to ward off potential suitors.
And Atalanta’s president, Antonio Percassi, hopes that Kessie will remain in Lombardy beyond the January transfer window but offered no assurances of his future beyond that particular benchmark.
“I do not think that Kessie will leave Bergamo in January, but then who knows what will happen,” Percassi told to L’Eco di Bergamo, as reported by Football Italia.
“I hope that he will remain at Atalanta until June.”
Kessie starred on loan at Serie B side Cesena last season, earning a place in the league’s Team of the Year, and, if his current trajectory is anything to go by, more accolades could by on their way in the near future.
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