Kessie calls Inter: the nerazzurri prepare the move for the summer

At least in Appiano Franck Kessie is like a white shirt, blue jeans or a cashmere pullover: it never goes out of style. The Ivorian is a garment that Inter already wanted to wear a summer ago, then the Nerazzurri tried again to find a place for him in the wardrobe in the very last days of a hectic January. The right time could finally arrive in July: Zhang’s club is already working to redo the look of the midfield by giving Inzaghi a good halfback for every season. Timeless, at least for the tastes of the coach and Inter managers. Thus, this week the contacts that were interrupted on the last day of the market were reactivated. The telephones rang again, not once but twice: on one side of the receiver was the player’s agent, unhappy with Franck’s limited playing time in Blaugrana; on the other, the Inter managers intrigued by the opportunity that could arise again along the way. In fact, the stars are aligning and the conditions are in place for a new Milanese adventure of the Ivorian: the desire to meet each other is mutual and long-standing, but the novelty of the latest conversations is that Kessie’s arrival in the nerazzurri would be untied by the exchange on par with Brozovic. There was much speculation about this possibility before he rang the gong for the winter transfer market, but in the summer the operation could take on a life of its own.

tight thread

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According to the January plans, a double capital gain, authentic and balsamic, would have taken shape for both clubs. And he would also have responded to technical reasons: Brozo is a modern and total playmaker, also useful among Barcelona’s setters, while Kessie would give the physicality Simone needs in a department short on kilos and centimeters. The deal, however, could take a different path, regardless of the fact that Inter will listen with great interest to any summer offers for the Croatian, one of the “expendables” on the altar of reckoning. All this, compatibly with Kessie’s performance over the next few months: Franck imagined a different life in Catalonia when he signed on a free deal after his farewell to Milan. Among the blaugrana there is no room to knock on the owners’ door, at least as long as Busquets rules in the middle, but in recent weeks the Ivorian has become at least less peripheral than in the beginning. On the contrary, he begins to take advantage of the few opportunities conceded: last Sunday, for example, he entered the Camp Nou from the bench and invented a delicious assist for Jordi Alba’s opening goal against Sevilla, a result that further detached the Real Madrid from the top. And yesterday Xavi used sweet words for the ex Diavolo, on the eve of the match against Villarreal: «Franck is a very strong player physically, who can be important for the next matches. He wins many duels, he knows how to reach the area; I have a lot of faith in him…». Net of these timid rays of sunshine, however, Kessie wants a much different climate: he remembers the times when at Milan they called him “president” and, precisely with a presidential air, he dominated in the middle of the field up to the Scudetto: something similar would like to repeat soon also at Inter, a club he has always watched with interest and curiosity. Among other things, he saw how the transition from Rossoneri leader to Nerazzurri reference is not as complicated as it used to be: Calhanoglu, his great friend since Milanello, has been through some turbulence, but is now an undisputed idol of the Curva Nord. Indeed, the Turk is the main sponsor for his landing at Pinetina: Franck asked Hakan for news when he had to decide who to sign with on a free transfer and Inter was a real possibility. Curiosity about the Nerazzurri world hasn’t changed and the messages to his friend also continue. In addition, after six months in La Liga, the Ivorian has understood that the Italian championship is the one designed to enhance his characteristics.

The project

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The Nerazzurri executives, who keep the thread taut with Kessie’s world, are the same ones who will have to make painful transfers before and after 30 June: the CEO Beppe Marotta and sporting director Piero Ausilio will try to maximize Denzel Dumfries’ farewell in terms of millions and will most likely have to showcase another piece of silverware. Their ability to spend will in any case be minimal, which is why the Nerazzurri’s idea is to offer the Catalans a loan deal in due time, conditional on a buy-out the following season: having reached zero, the final price of the 26-year-old midfielder should in any case not exceed 30 millions. However, Kessie’s contract with Barcelona is still long, it expires in 2026, but in cases like these, only the player’s will can bend events. Also for this reason, the agent George Atangana has begun to weave the canvas months in advance, while Inzaghi is already thinking about where to give him in a high quality midfield: he could replace everyone in the middle, including Brozo. As long as the Croatian is still in his place, in the Inter to come.