One of the nastier surprises to pop up as Juventus began preseason training was the revelation that Khéphren Thuram was going to miss the entire preseason with runner’s knee. A constant presence in the lineup the last two years, his absence will shine a light on the team’s lack of depth in the midfield.
Douglas Luiz’s encouraging performance against Basel on Saturday could perhaps alleviate that, but with Teun Koopmeiners and Fabio Miretti both in long-term ruts of form, some help from outside would
certainly be welcome.
That’s probably one of the reasons why Juve brass has recently made contact with Franck Kessie.
The Ivorian international was a protagonist for his country at the World Cup, playing well in midfield and scoring a goal in their 2-1 group-stage loss to Germany. Cote d’Ivoire were ultimately eliminated in the round of 32 by Norway on a late goal by Erling Haaland.
Kessie is still only 29, and he’s got extensive experience in Italy, playing six years between Atalanta and AC Milan before moving to Barcelona in 2022. He spent only one season at Camp Nou before spending the last three years at Al-Ahli. But he hasn’t renewed his contract and during the World Cup openly acknowledged that he would be interested in returning to Serie A with the Bianconeri.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Juve have begun to negotiate with the midfielder, but there are still hurdles. The pink paper claims that Kessie’s salary demand is between €5 million and €6 million, with a substantial signing bonus for both himself and his agents.
Kessie’s open flirtation with Juve at the World Cup is a good sign, but those are hefty salary demands for a team as cash-strapped as Juve. Still, a free transfer of that nature would still be a lot cheaper than trying to sign a player of Kessie’s proven level—he scored 44 times in 254 games during those six seasons in Serie A—with a normal transfer fee. If they were to negotiate Kessie down to a salary they consider reasonable, he would be a very good addition to the midfield.
There is a potential problem other than salary negotiations if Juve were to make this work.
That problem is AS Roma, who are reportedly furious over being gazzumped to Zeki Celik and, according to Gazzetta, are considering retaliating by doing something similar with Kessie. The presence of Gian Piero Gasperini, who gave Kessie his first-team debut at Atalanta, could be a tempting lure, and with Champions League football they can probably splash more cash.
It remains to be seen whether and/or where Kessie will sign, but he would be a good get for a Juve team in desperate need of depth in all areas, and potentially the midfield in particular.
