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It is clear that Barcelona are getting desperate to offload players as soon as possible in order to lighten their wage bill and rake in some cash to help with their Financial Fair Play situation.
One of the players set to be sacrificed by the Blaugrana is midfielder Franck Kessie. The 26-year-old has been at the club for only a year but given the financial situation, the Catalans have been forced to consider his departure despite Xavi valuing his presence in the squad.
Juventus are interested in signing Kessie this summer as a possible replacement for Paul Pogba, who is attracting interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.
And, according to SPORT, Juve have already made formal contact with Barcelona to convey their interest in signing Kessie in the ongoing transfer window.
The Bianconeri see the Ivory Coast international as the main target to fill the void that would be left by Pogba’s potential departure to the Middle East in the coming weeks.
While they are waiting for Pogba’s exit to be finalised before launching a full offensive, the decision to go after Kessie has been made and contacts have been established with the La Liga champions.
And, as per the report, Barcelona would be more than happy to facilitate Kessie’s transfer to Juventus. But they are demanding a minimum transfer fee of €15 million plus bonuses for the same.
It must be noted that Kessie is also attracting interest from Saudi Arabia and has an offer on the table, although things are not very clear due to the number of intermediaries involved. Should the Middle East nation firm up its interest in the midfielder, his asking price could go further up.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Juventus would prefer to sign the former AC Milan ace on loan, which could create a conflict for the operation to go through.
Barcelona remain intent on resolving the matter of Kessie’s future at the earliest as his departure, along with that of Clement Lenglet, will help the club register new players without any problems. Whether there is any progress in talks with Juventus now remains to be seen.
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