Tottenham ‘best positioned’ to sign Barcelona flop after making direct probe to La Liga giants

Tottenham Hotspur are leading the race for Barcelona midfield struggler Franck Kessie, according to a report from a source close to the La Liga club.

Kessie only joined Barcelona in the summer after reaching the end of his contract with AC Milan. He went to La Liga as a Serie A title winner and at the age of 25 looked ready to take the next step in his career.

However, Kessie has so far struggled to find consistency in Catalonia. So far this season, he has only started two La Liga matches and three in the Champions League.

Barcelona tied Kessie down to a contract until 2026 when signing him, but there have already been rumours that they could get rid of him ahead of schedule.

In the event that he becomes available in 2023, a number of clubs are queuing up, backed by a belief that Kessie can get back to the levels he was showing with AC Milan before.

Aston Villa have ambitiously been linked with the Ivory Coast international, for example, but a more likely suitor might be Tottenham.

Indeed, Diario Sport – an outlet based in Barcelona – reports that Tottenham are the “best positioned” club to sign Kessie next. They are ahead of the likes of Inter and Napoli, who could take him back to Serie A instead.

Despite this, the report indicates that a January exit for Kessie is unlikely. His future could come into focus next summer, though, if his situation hasn’t improved.

He is competing with the likes of Frenkie De Jong, Pedri, Gavi and Sergio Busquets for a place in the Barcelona midfield.

If he cannot overtake them in Xavi’s hierarchy, he might have to find a new club in 2023 – and that could be Tottenham.

Tottenham view Kessie as midfield reinforcement

In their own midfield, Spurs have Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur as their main options. Behind them in the pecking order are the likes of Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr, as well as summer signing Yves Bissouma.

There could be a role for Kessie to take if Antonio Conte – or whoever else is in charge of Tottenham by that point, given that the head coach is only under contract until the end of the season – decides an upgrade might be needed.

One caveat for Kessie is that he might need to lower his salary if he is to leave Barcelona, where he currently earns €5million per season (around £83,000 per week).

According to the report, anyone who wants the former Atalanta man will do so on lower terms than he is taking home at the moment.

Furthermore, Tottenham would only be willing to take Kessie on loan with an option to buy. Still, this formula might put Spurs at an advantage over Inter and Napoli.

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