Aston Villa’s reported pursuit of Franck Kessie is a signal of their ‘ambition’, Pete O’Rourke has told GiveMeSport.
The lowdown
Il Milanista recently reported (via Sport Witness) that Villa were rivalling Barcelona for the 25-year-old’s signature. The player is currently set to leave AC Milan at the end of the season when his contract expires, and Villa’s NSWE ownership have offered his camp ‘the best’ terms up to this point.
Kessie is a £43.2m-rated midfielder who starts virtually every game for Serie A leaders Milan when he’s available. Plus, he has played 31 matches in European competitions at the age of just 25, while his manager Stefano Pioli has gone as far as to call him a ‘complete player’.
A composed distributor of the ball – the Ivorian’s 90.5% passing success rate is better than anyone to have started a Premier League match for Villa in 2021/22 – he also gets into positions where he can make a difference. As per FBRef, he ranks in the 90th percentile for touches in the attacking penalty area among midfielders in Europe’s five main domestic leagues and continental tournaments.
The latest
O’Rourke reckons that Kessie would be a real statement signing for Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa, but cautioned that the Midlands might not be one of the player’s preferred destinations.
The journalist told GiveMeSport: “It shows the ambition of Aston Villa that they’re in for somebody like Franck Kessie. I don’t think they’ll be top of his priority list right away.”
The verdict
Gerrard has already shown the pulling power he possesses, even though he has only been at the club for one transfer window. He played an instrumental role as Villa beat off Premier League competition for the loan signing of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona (via The Athletic).
The Brazilian is a player of immense stature, having commanded the fourth-largest transfer fee in football history in 2018, and Gerrard will now hope to win Kessie over and secure another marquee coup for the Midlands club.
If he can, it would send out a huge statement about Villa’s ambition, as O’Rourke has stated.
In other news, O’Rourke has also dropped a concerning claim on one current Villa player