Barcelona ‘working on discrete deal’ with Prem club for Liverpool target Kessie

Barcelona are reportedly ‘secretly working on a deal’ that will see Frank Keissie leave the club this summer. An unnamed Premier League side are said to be in direct negotiations with the Spanish side, with numerous outfits linked with acquiring his services previously.

With Barca keen to balance the books once again this summer, several players have been pushed into the shop window at the Camp Nou. Samuel Umtiti, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba – among others – have all left the club as free agents, and the focus at the club is now on recouping transfer funds.

Kessie is among the players that are likely to be moved on after starting just seven La Liga matches for Xavi’s side, coming off of the bench on 21 other occasions. The Ivorian has shown no clear signs that he could break into the Barcelona midfield soon and with Ilkay Gundogan arriving from Manchester City, the higher powers at the Catalan giants are keen to cut their losses on his services.

According to MD, Barca are ‘discreetly’ working on a deal with a Premier League side for Kessie, with the negotiations progressing well. Juventus are also in the running to sign the 26-year-old and have had a loan-to-buy offer accepted, but they are no longer the frontrunners.

Instead, the English outfit are proposing a straight sale to Barca – which is preferred. Kessie is also said to be keen on making the move to the Premier League and had made it clear that if he was to move this summer, he would favour a move to England over other competitions.

Liverpool have been linked with the ex-AC Milan star previously and are also in the heart of a midfield rebuild, however, Kessie has not been mentioned in the shortlist of targets being considered at Anfield. Instead, Southampton’s Romeo Lavia appears to be the leading candidate to complete Jurgen Klopp’s new-look midfield trio alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.