Franck Kessie, anyone?

Cassidy

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The resident sporting fan means as much as one of us telling Sporting fans Pogba is a 6. He’s own Sporting manager said he’s a 8 and when I watched him that’s where he played.
When I watched him he pretty much had a free role like he does with us
 

Jaxa

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Any regular AC Milan viewers on here ? What's he been like over the season ? I was really impressed with him when he played against us, he had our players bouncing off him, was very aggressive and had tidy feet also, only 24 with 1 year left on his contract,

We could do a lot worse than sign Franck Kessie.
 

diarm

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Any regular AC Milan viewers on here ? What's he been like over the season ? I was really impressed with him when he played against us, he had our players bouncing off him, was very aggressive and had tidy feet also, only 24 with 1 year left on his contract,

We could do a lot worse than sign Franck Kessie.
A lad I work with is a massive Milan fan and he absolutely worships Kessie. He's been raving about him all season and told me he'd be the player to watch before our tie ever happened.

Doesn't seem like his performance against us was much out of the ordinary.
 

Dante

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Looked like your average busy, psysical midfielder with basic quality on the ball.

Despite outrunning Fred or McTominay in our games, I didn't see anywhere near enough to convince me that Kessie would be an upgrade on either when everybody has fresh legs.
 
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Dante

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Almost every team in the PL (including United) have at least one midfielder that's at least as good as Kessie. He really doesn't strike me as anybody worth chasing.
 
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P-Nut

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Think we'd be having similar complaints that we have with Fred and McTominay, mainly he's not a true DM that can sit by himself and he's limited on the ball. 1 goal from open play this season is less than McTominay as well so don't see the upside, although he did look very good against us, I think we should be targeting a higher calibre of player and one that can play as the sole DM.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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To me he is similar to Fred but physically on steroid. He has the same incredible aggression, work rate, & stamina as Fred. His level of technique is also equal to Fred imo so not very technical player but physically he’s quicker, stronger and much better in holding and shielding the ball, meaning he’s an upgrade. In my opinion he’s Ole’s type of midfielder criteria as he’s in the category of great work rate, aggressive, mobile and discipline. One year left in his contract and I’ll take him as position for position replacement if Pogba leaves and get creative wingers to replace his creativity.
 

Number32

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To be honest I never watched him in a full match, including against us. But his nickname given by Milan's supporter is "The President", does it means he is a good commander of the midfield?
 

Champagne Football

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To me he is similar to Fred but physically on steroid. He has the same incredible aggression, work rate, & stamina as Fred. His level of technique is also equal to Fred imo so not very technical player but physically he’s quicker, stronger and much better in holding and shielding the ball, meaning he’s an upgrade. In my opinion he’s Ole’s type of midfielder criteria as he’s in the category of great work rate, aggressive, mobile and discipline. One year left in his contract and I’ll take him as position for position replacement if Pogba leaves and get creative wingers to replace his creativity.
Donny will be given a chance next season. Then Garner probably a year after that. So I don't think Ole will be after this bloke.
 

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Donny will be given a chance next season. Then Garner probably a year after that. So I don't think Ole will be after this bloke.
I would like to believe we invested 35m for Pogba's midfield position replacement but so far we haven't seen that.

First of all, Matic is not good enough and he must not even be considered as rotation player. We lost 9x this season and 6 of them were coming from when Matic was starting for us. If the idea is to get rid Matic and promote Garner to rotate with Fred & McT then I'm not trying to argue with that. However, if Pogba is leaving that leaves us only McT, Fred and Garner in double pivot options, I don't think that's enough.
 

Champagne Football

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I would like to believe we invested 35m for Pogba's midfield position replacement but so far we haven't seen that.

First of all, Matic is not good enough and he must not even be considered as rotation player. We lost 9x this season and 6 of them were coming from when Matic was starting for us. If the idea is to get rid Matic and promote Garner to rotate with Fred & McT then I'm not trying to argue with that. However, if Pogba is leaving that leaves us only McT, Fred and Garner in double pivot options, I don't think that's enough.
Hannibel Mejbri also expected to break through as a central midfielder. Will be interesting to see if Ole puts full faith in youth coming through, or if he'll try to invest in central midfield. Declan Rice will be too expensive, but wouldn't be surprised to see the club make a cheeky bid.
 

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Looked like your average busy, psysical midfielder with basic quality on the ball.

Despite outrunning Fred or McTominay in our games, I didn't see anywhere near enough to convince me that Kessie would be an upgrade on either when everybody has fresh legs.
Disagree. Now i dont watch Serie A much, but if his matches against us is normal for him, then hes much better than your run of the mill physical midfielder.

Having a CM thats both a great ball winner and great at ball retention is such an asset because it means winning the "midfield battle" is much more likely. For example, if we had someone behind Bruno that could draw players towards them then it would give Bruno much more room to operate in
 

Craig Ward

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Think this is the typical "he had a good game against us so he must be world class" logic

Lots of players raise they're game against us which causes this kind of hype.

Nothing too this for me.

Heard people say he;s better on the ball than Fred and drives forward more - Fred used to do that for shakhtar. Thats why we signed him, but either he hasn;t got the confidence to do it now or he;s being told not too by the coaches.

We do need better quality around the midfield for sure. McTom and Fred are decent at best and Pogba is leaving sooner rather than later and Matic has no legs. Donny hasnt been given a fair chance as yet either. Garner/Mjebri are a couple of seasons off making any impact, if any.

Similar to our CB issue - we have a lot of numbers but not enough quality

Kessie would only work for me if Fred and/or McTom left, Pogba left and Matic retired or something. If 3 leave, we'd need to sign two players. Kessie could replace Fred/McTom and then we'd need more of a deep playmaker to finally get rid of Pogba.

All the Kessie talk just reminds me of the Zakaria and Soumare talk last season
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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Hannibel Mejbri also expected to break through as a central midfielder. Will be interesting to see if Ole puts full faith in youth coming through, or if he'll try to invest in central midfield. Declan Rice will be too expensive, but wouldn't be surprised to see the club make a cheeky bid.
Can't put full faith on too many teenagers in midfield if we want to challenge the league. 2 teenagers in 4 option of the midfield 2 is too much, we also need balance.
 

Rolaholic

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If we can't get Camavinga,Kessie would be another good young option who'd likely be cheaper.

Can see Milan holding firm and not giving him what he wants now that they have Tonali in the team which could make him available this summer
 

Abraxas

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I really like this player, he has a lot of qualities that should transition well to the Premier League. I do think he's potentially an affordable option, even if he's not absolutely first choice.

Then again I do not really understand who we are targeting as Rice is expensive and there are question marks and Camavinga doesn't add up to me given we need somebody closer to the finished product.
 

golden_blunder

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If we can't get Camavinga,Kessie would be another good young option who'd likely be cheaper.

Can see Milan holding firm and not giving him what he wants now that they have Tonali in the team which could make him available this summer
Again he’s more of a box to box which new already have. We don’t know what ole is looking for here
 

Red_Orchestra

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Another midfielder with 12 months left on his contract and is not willing to resign an extension.
A definite upgrade to all of our central midfielders. Sell Pogba and replace with Kessie.
 

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Huge fan of Kessie. Positionally similar to Fred or McT in that he's more box to box than DM, but with good defensive qualities. But potentially a more rounded player than either of those two, both of whom have clear strengths but serious weaknesses too. He strikes me as a more reliable and more physically powerful Fred.
 

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He’s no Pogba replacement talent wise BUT absolutely worth getting if it’s a cut price because he is better then what we have once Pogba has gone.

Surprised he’s not strongly linked with other clubs.
 

Skills

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Huge fan of Kessie. Positionally similar to Fred or McT in that he's more box to box than DM, but with good defensive qualities. But potentially a more rounded player than either of those two, both of whom have clear strengths but serious weaknesses too. He strikes me as a more reliable and more physically powerful Fred.
What are McTominay's again?
 

Brightonian

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What are McTominay's again?
He's a good carrier of the ball when not being used in a DM position which doesn't suit him. He's a good finisher who can score goals from outside/the edge of the box, given opportunities. He's got excellent stamina and that makes him useful in the engine room against big opponents.

Let's not take the surely unobjectionable opinion that Fred and McT each have strengths and weaknesses and turn it into an opportunity to get all hysterical about how brilliant/useless either of them is.
 

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Watched a lot of him last season and he was excellent, so strong on the ball and when Milan grinded out wins he was crucial, very reliable player, would be a very good buy.
 

ATXRedDevil

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This would be an excellent signing considering it would likely be for a very good price due to the contract situation. Would be an upgrade in the double pivot, and if Pogba does stay I think we could play a 4-3-3 with Pogba-Kessie-Bruno against lesser teams. If Pogba leaves and we're able to sign Goretzka next year, a Kessie-Goretzka double pivot with Bruno as a #10 would be brilliant.
 

Abraxas

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This guy would probably be in the same ballpark as Neves in terms of profile of signing and cost. Well, at least a lot more comparable than a Rice (extortionate) or Camavinga (still very young).

I certainly know who I'd rather have of the two, and it's not the Wolves man. If Milan are willing to entertain selling him due to the contract situation I do think he is somebody we should be all over, even if he's not stylistically perfect as a single signing, he would add quality to our options.
 

OleGunnar20

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Didn't he namedrop us as a dream club a little while back? Would appear a smart singing.
 

Red&Black

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his agent last week: "it would take a coup d'etat to get franck out of milan" - this in reference to him being nicknamed "Presidente"

meeting set up this week in Milan (agent already there) to finalize the renewal per all the top sources.

donnarumma, as you know... led by raiola. hakan is garbage and he admitted only the coach wanted him to remain... Kessie is a total different story. fans love him, he loves milan (said it was the team he followed growing up)

eta: (from 2 weeks ago) - Maldini on Kessie: “In the future, there is Kessie. We are working on his renewal.”
 

Random Task

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his agent last week: "it would take a coup d'etat to get franck out of milan" - this in reference to him being nicknamed "Presidente"

meeting set up this week in Milan (agent already there) to finalize the renewal per all the top sources.

donnarumma, as you know... led by raiola. hakan is garbage and he admitted only the coach wanted him to remain... Kessie is a total different story. fans love him, he loves milan (said it was the team he followed growing up)

eta: (from 2 weeks ago) - Maldini on Kessie: “In the future, there is Kessie. We are working on his renewal.”
Close shutters on this one then.

Shame, I had a feeling he'd be a star for us. Nevermind.
 

Red&Black

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Close shutters on this one then.

Shame, I had a feeling he'd be a star for us. Nevermind.
and just this now, from Mr Fab Romano:
Franck Kessié: “I want to stay at AC Milan forever. I’m proud of this club and I’m not planning to leave AC Milan, absolutely!” He’s in advanced talks to extend his contract [@FabrizioRomano]

He's a star. An absolute bull. I think now that we're FINALLY back in the Champions League people are going to notice a few more of our players... But that's just how it is... When you're not in the CL, your players sit under the radar. He'd be a GREAT addition to any midfield, he really is, imo, a top tier MF for his role.

If he ever was to leave, let it be to United (ideally, never though ;) )
 

RedSky

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He'd piss off our fans. He gets dispossessed a lot and has a very poor first touch. Good defensive game but we need someone who's good on the ball and can receive the ball and pass it on.