Franck Kessie proved his worth yet again when he came off the bench and helped Atalanta to pick up maximum points against Empoli. It was a performance that truly justifies why European big boys are keeping tabs on his availability.
According to the reports earlier this month, Spurs have tabled a £20 million offer for the midfielder yet will still need to beat some stiff competition from Juventus as well as other Premier League rivals.
Despite being a central midfielder, he has been revolving around the club’s scoring chart with 6 goals to his name so far and a single assist in the process. What’s more, he holds a pass accuracy of 83% of which 71% were forward passes. The talented youngster was initially rested last time out after being a frequent face in the first team yet Gian Piero Gasperini was in desperate need of a game changer and introduced Kessie to the fold and boy did he deliver.
The visitors took the lead 6 minutes after the interval yet the Ivory Coast international pulled one back with a sensational strike with his right foot. He then came close to grab his second of the match, only for the crossbar to deny his effort. Thankfully another substitute, Marco D’Alessandro made a full swing of the limited minutes with the winner late on. Besides the contribution on the pitch, Kessie has also set a European record – the youngster player to bag 6 goals in Europe’s top 5 leagues – and the fact he is not a striker, makes his achievement even more remarkable.
It’s pretty evident why the London club are interested in his services as they are lacking goals. Mauricio Pochettino’s midfielders, at times defenders too, have been loading the bullets for the strikers up front yet finding the back of the net has been a far-cry, considering their fluid attacking options within the squad. Christian Eriksen has been quite a shadow of last season, Erik Lamela is sidelined due to a hip injury and most notably, Vincent Janssen seems to have left his arsenal at AZ Alkmaar. Pochettino knows that if most of the chances were taken in front of goal, it would have been a different story as Spurs are coherent at the back.
Moreover, the 44-year-old is yet to pull a masterstroke with his summer signings, excluding Victor Wanyama. Therefore, Kessie could be his next trump card to morph his midfield ranks with more quality.
The only bite is the Ivorian will be heading off to the African Nations Cup next month. However, to ensure their interest does not only remain as treading water, they may need to overlook this temporary hurdle and bring him over to White Hart Lane at once. Given his tender age and immense potential, benching him would derail his career, so they can even loan him back to Atalanta.
To further add spice to the speculation, it’s believed that rivals Arsenal have sent scouts to rate the youngster too.
