Arsenal have positioned themselves excellently to steal Barcelona’s bargain transfer of the summer, and strengthen Mikel Arteta’s midfield, which is set to be weakened ahead of next season.
According to Spanish journalist Xavi Campos , AC Milan midfield Franck Kessie is in advanced negotiations with Barcelona and could join the Spanish side in the summer.
However, Spanish outlet Sport have recently claimed that The La Liga side have pulled out of the race, as the club are not willing to meet the midfielder's wage demands.
With Arsenal’s offloading in the January transfer window it has meant that there is a lot of space in the club’s wage bill, and they can potentially swoop in to sign the Ivorian.
The Gunners have previously been linked to Kessie, as The Mirror have claimed that Arsenal, along with Manchester United and Spurs, are interested in securing the Ivorian's services.
And they created a lot of space in the January transfer window to potentially get the deal done due to the sale of five players.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari, Sead Kolasinac, and Calum Chambers had departed the club in the January transfer window, as Edu looks to create funds to help with Arteta’s rebuild in the summer transfer window.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who was taking home £350,000-a-week was also sold to Barcelona, which has given Arsenal an excellent opportunity to use these wages spread across multiple players.
Reports in Italy have claimed that Kessie wants around £146,000 per week, with the Rossoneri currently offering around £107,000.
The Gunners will be in desperate need of a midfielder in the summer window, as Football.london understands that Roma are expected to make a fresh attempt to sign Granit Xhaka at the end of the season.
This will mean that Thomas Partey would be the only experienced midfielder in the team, as Mohamed Elneny’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
Albert Sambi Lokonga and Charlie Patino are the other midfielders at the club, however, they both need time to adapt to the Premier League, and they shouldn’t be burdened with such a huge responsibility.
Kessie is still only 24-years-old but has the necessary Champions League experience, and has been a Serie A regular for over five seasons.
The Ivorian has accumulated interest from Barcelona, Tottenham and Manchester United previously which highlights the pedigree of the player, and another reason why he would be an excellent coup on a free transfer.
Edu’s creation of space to offer a higher amount of wages to players has opened up an opportunity to elevate Arteta’s team with a pivot of Partey and Kessie, and it is certainly a free transfer that the Brazilian should look to pursue.
Make sure you have subscribed to The Arsenal Way and the Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Arsenal content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews.
