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Barcelona could offer Franck Kessie and €40 million to Inter Milan for the services of Nicolo Barella, CalcioMercatoWeb has reported. The swap could happen in the summer, as a January transfer is infeasible.
Impressed with his performances for AC Milan in the 2021-22 season, Barcelona sealed Serie A winner Kessie’s transfer last summer on a free agent. Although undeniably gifted, Kessie has found it difficult to feature regularly for Xavi this season.
The Barca boss has kept faith in the Pedri-Sergio Busquets-Frenkie de Jong trio in midfield, leaving Kessie primarily on the bench. The Ivorian has featured in 18 games this season across competitions, scoring twice and providing as many assists. In La Liga, six of his eight appearances have been off the bench.
It has been reported that Kessie is eager to play more regularly, something Barcelona are unlikely to accommodate. The Blaugrana are hoping to orchestrate a player-plus-clash swap deal for Kessie that would get them someone who fits into Xavi’s system. Inter are reportedly interested in Kessie, and Barcelona are wishful of striking up a favourable deal.
According to CalcioMercatoWeb, the Blaugrana wish to bring Euro 2020 winner Barella to the club by offering Kessie and €40 million to the Nerazzurri. They initially wanted to sign Marcelo Brozovic from Inter, but the Croatian is unwilling to move.
As per the Italian outlet, Inter have no interest in signing Kessie in exchange for a key player. They consider Barella as one of the cornerstones of Simone Inzaghi’s project and see him as a non-transferable asset.
Barella, 25, has been in fine form for Inter this season, with the central midfielder scoring six times and claiming seven assists in 24 appearances across competitions.
Barcelona progress to Copa del Rey quarterfinals
The La Liga leaders took on the bottom-placed team in the third division, AD Ceuta FC, in the Copa del Rey Round of 16 on Thursday (January 19) night. As expected, Xavi’s men ran circles around their lowly rivals, securing an emphatic 5-0 win.
Ceuta did well in the opening exchanges, fighting tooth and nail to keep the Blaugrana at bay. Raphinha finally broke the deadlock in the 41st minute with a stunner 25 yards from goal.
The floodgates opened in the second half. Robert Lewandowski finished from close range in the 50th minute to put Barcelona 2-0 up.
In the 70th minute, Ansu Fati snatched a morale-boosting goal to all but seal the win. The visitors, though, weren’t quite done yet, with Kessie (77th) and Lewandowski to cap off the rout.
