Spurs eye new Mousa Dembele in AC Milan’s Franck Kessie | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur could find their next Mousa Dembele as Fabio Paratici eyes a bargain free-agent swoop in 2022…

What’s the word?

According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Spurs have once again been linked with a move for AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, who is out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

The Serie A outfit have not seen an advance in talks over a new deal and are becoming increasingly worried about losing the 24-year-old for nothing.

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Clubs outside of Italy are able to agree on a pre-contract with the Ivory Coast international from January.

Paratici is facing stiff competition, however, with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United also mooted with interest.

Shades of Dembele

This would be quite the stroke of genius from the Italian supremo, and it’s certainly not the first time he has looked to complete a deal of his nature.

In fact, he was known for this during his time at Juventus, having signed the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Kingsley Coman, Dani Alves, Aaron Ramsey and many more on free transfers.

Spurs have a need for reinforcements in midfield as the balance of Nuno Santo’s side is not quite right – perhaps they are lacking a Mousa Dembele-type presence to hold everything together in the engine room.

That’s what Kessie could bring to the north Londoners next year.

The young midfield powerhouse has previously been described as “devastating” by former AC Milan striker Antonio Cassano, who added: “He reminds me of the Yaya Toure at the best times. He is a different player but in terms of impact, he is holding Milan’s midfield alone.”

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Meanwhile, his former boss Vincenzo Montella once dubbed him “an extraordinary player” with “sublime intelligence.”

Indeed, Kessie can do it all, both in defence and attack.

Only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (15) scored more than the Ivorian’s 13 league goals for Milan last season, whilst he averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.2 dribbles per Serie A game, via WhoScored.

The Belgian beast was a key cog under Mauricio Pochettino and he too was a player who could hold onto the ball and get forward with relative ease. He started his career as a winger, so he was a crucial and intelligent figure in the final third, where Kessie evidently likes to get involved given his goalscoring exploits.