Franck Kessie

[Neon_Knight_]

No idea what some people have been seeing in Kessie but he would be a brilliant signing for us, power, passing ability and shooting of both feet, a captain at Milan so leadership qualities, strong in the tackle, quicker than he looks to. Yes he had a bad game at Anfield but he wouldn't be alone there, lots of outstanding players have and on the day Milan were awful. For me he would instantly raise the level of the whole squad. Hoijberg, Bissouma, Bentancur and Kessie would give us tremendous strength in dept in the central midfield area.

I think it's reasonable for people to have reservations about signing someone who's looking for a move less than six months after signing a four-year(?) contract at a new club. I know I would have been feeling more positive about signing him in the summer, when he was a free agent, than I do now. He certainly has the potential to be a very good player in the PL, but those of us who don't follow him closely are wondering what's going wrong for him at Barca.

 

[T-Bone]

I think it's reasonable for people to have reservations about signing someone who's looking for a move less than six months after signing a four-year(?) contract at a new club. I know I would have been feeling more positive about signing him in the summer, when he was a free agent, than I do now. He certainly has the potential to be a very good player in the PL, but those of us who don't follow him closely are wondering what's going wrong for him at Barca.

Its Barca's finances forcing the move not the player or his ability, thats even if the rumours that he is available are even accurate

 

[chrissivad]

Its Barca's finances forcing the move not the player or his ability, thats even if the rumours that he is available are even accurate

Are they still in trouble?
I thought they sold off years of TV rights to be stable for the short term.

If they are looking to turn players over by signing them on a free, they won't make much on selling for £13m with agent fees and signing on bonus ect.

 

[rabbikeane]

Among the top 10 compared players on fbref you find Mac Allister, McKennie and Rabiot. Who we've all been linked to.
Not sure it's what we need in my eyes, but perhaps Conte want something else.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Its Barca's finances forcing the move not the player or his ability, thats even if the rumours that he is available are even accurate

Why has he only played 212 minutes of league football in the first half of this season then?

 

[Ray Ray]

Why has he only played 212 minutes of league football in the first half of this season then?

Pedri, gavi, busquets.
I don't think he's a bad player, he's just not a Barca player.

Much like when they signed Ibra, they got the wrong guy for them.

Also when he signed they where up shots creek, then they started to sell of the rights to have a shit in the Camp Neu to whoever was the highest bidder.

Let's be honest, for any player on world football it's hard to say no to Barca.

On the player himself, if we play more of a 3-5-2 then he's perfect. High press, athletic and if you watch him closely is very good at making angles to be an option to beat a press. Sometimes the simple give and go, drop it back and look over the top is the easiest way around it.

Hes good, he fits the 3-5-2 system since he played it in Milan, my one big question mark is the pace of the PL. But if it it's true at 15 million, it must be worth a punt, because without benta we had noone doing the high press from midfield, which gives them souch time to pick a pass.

 

[chrissivad]

He has picked up a couple of injuries, so probably didn't help him break into the starting lineup

 

[Roberts84]

the Diaz to Kulusevski switch proves my point. Once is a right footed LF, very direct Mane type profile. Kulusevski a left footed RW much more of a creative type. They aren't similar at all and just demonstrates Paratici was going down the list of players he rates. He's been OK for us but I don't really trust him an awful lot tbh.

We bought Richie in the summer for LW that could also deputise for Kane so it was a position we were looking at. Iirc itk suggested we were also after a RW and managed to get Kulusevski with the money we didn’t spend on Diaz.
I think Gill was an opportunity to buy an exciting young player that fitted into the system that Nuno was using. FP does seem to have a plan and works with the managers to get players that fit their system. Key to that working long term is to set a philosophy and stick to it by replacing managers that will progress and enhance the philosophy without having to replace the squad again. Emerson is a prime example, bought for one manager but a completely wrong fit for the next. Under Levy we’ve switched from one type of manager to another with complete opposite styles which creates a continuous ‘project’ as we continually start over. Hopefully the director of football should stop this (in theory)

 

[Finchyid]

Before he went to Barca and his last year or so at Milan he was in the best midfielders in Serie A list. I personally see it as a good move as it’s clear to me that Conte only trusts Bents and Hjojberg. Bissouma just just seem to cut it in this system and I don’t believe conte has same opinion as fans of Skipp so we need the competition

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Pedri, gavi, busquets.
I don't think he's a bad player, he's just not a Barca player.

Much like when they signed Ibra, they got the wrong guy for them.

Also when he signed they where up shots creek, then they started to sell of the rights to have a shit in the Camp Neu to whoever was the highest bidder.

Let's be honest, for any player on world football it's hard to say no to Barca.

On the player himself, if we play more of a 3-5-2 then he's perfect. High press, athletic and if you watch him closely is very good at making angles to be an option to beat a press. Sometimes the simple give and go, drop it back and look over the top is the easiest way around it.

Hes good, he fits the 3-5-2 system since he played it in Milan, my one big question mark is the pace of the PL. But if it it's true at 15 million, it must be worth a punt, because without benta we had noone doing the high press from midfield, which gives them souch time to pick a pass.

Good in a system that we don't play...how about in the system we do play?
I know a lot of fans (esp. on SC) want us to switch to a 3-5-2, but I can't see that happening any time soon. Kulusevski has to be one of the first names on the team sheet, but he needs to be played at RW to get the most out of him.

 

[septicsac]

Only seen him a few times and never been impressed, think I recall him having an absolute stinker against Liverpool in cl last year?
Ok if he is who Conte wants, but surely not a priority for Jan, far more pressing areas need addressing, would hope he would only happen if the more important areas are dealt with and not instead of.

 

[For the love of Spurs]

could be an interesting signing. Was one of the best midfielders in Italy for a while, has the talent and is a good goal scorer from midfield. Could be a bargain signing like Bentancur or Kulusevski.

 

[Albertbarich]

I think they only signed him because he was free.

Interesting that we're being linked with many centre midfielders. I wonder if Skipp goes on loan.

 

[KirstyG]

I think they only signed him because he was free.

Interesting that we're being linked with many centre midfielders. I wonder if Skipp goes on loan.

Sarr deffo I’d say. Skipp not so sure. But honestly we so often get overrun in midfield esp if Bentancur or Hojbjerg aren’t playing, and injuries and suspensions and tiredness happen. I do think we need another experience CM someone powerful and strong. Obviously CB and wings are a huge issue but if it pops up that we can get some more cover for a relatively cheap outlay that has quality then I think we go for it. Especially if that cheap ish outlay means we can get quality elsewhere.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Worth noting that of the 35 league goals he scored across 5 seasons for Milan, 21 of them were penalties.

That means he scored 14 goals from open play across 5 seasons for Milan, so an average of 2.8 goals per season.

That’s not to say penalties are not important but in our team this has a lot of relevance as Kane is our penalty taker. So actually in open play terms Kessie wouldn’t add many goals at all.

I see him get mentioned as a great goalscorer from midfield but when you deep dive the stats he’s actually just a good penalty taker. That’s still a good skill but it’s very different to a midfielder who scores 6-8 goals a season without being a pen taker.

 

[T-Bone]

Worth noting that of the 35 league goals he scored across 5 seasons for Milan, 21 of them were penalties.

That means he scored 14 goals from open play across 5 seasons for Milan, so an average of 2.8 goals per season.

That’s not to say penalties are not important but in our team this has a lot of relevance as Kane is our penalty taker. So actually in open play terms Kessie wouldn’t add many goals at all.

I see him get mentioned as a great goalscorer from midfield but when you deep dive the stats he’s actually just a good penalty taker. That’s still a good skill but it’s very different to a midfielder who scores 6-8 goals a season without being a pen taker.

And What was Bentancur's stats before this season with regards to goal scoring? Stats can be deep dived to turn you off or on any player but every player plays a little differently in each team/system they play in. It could be that him was mainly defensive at Milan like Bents was at Juve but scoring pens shows you have a cool demeanor in front of goal imo so I think he would score more for us if giving the chances.

 

[KirstyG]

And What was Bentancur's stats before this season with regards to goal scoring? Stats can be deep dived to turn you off or on any player but every player plays a little differently in each team/system they play in. It could be that him was mainly defensive at Milan like Bents was at Juve but scoring pens shows you have a cool demeanor in front of goal imo so I think he would score more for us if giving the chances.

Or in cup situations

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

And What was Bentancur's stats before this season with regards to goal scoring? Stats can be deep dived to turn you off or on any player but every player plays a little differently in each team/system they play in. It could be that him was mainly defensive at Milan like Bents was at Juve but scoring pens shows you have a cool demeanor in front of goal imo so I think he would score more for us if giving the chances.

This is all true but I was mainly just clearing up the fact he isn’t actually a great goalscorer from midfield currently in terms of open play. It’s a bit of a misconception as his tally has been skewed by penalties which he likely wouldn’t take for a lot of other clubs.

 

[Duffman]

I see he's played CB a few times in his career

 

[FrankSpencer]

He’s no Yaya Toure.