The return of the prodigal son? Barcelona’s summer signing wants to return to Italy

Franck Kessié hasn’t done well at Barcelona so far and there are reports of his departure, which could happen as early as January. He himself would prefer to return to AC Milan. But do the Rossoneri feel the same way?

The Ivory Coast international refused to extend his expiring contract at Milan last season, where they were trying to keep him, preferring to accept Barcelona’s offer. However, it seems that this was not the wisest decision. In the packed squad of the Catalan giant, Kessie has failed to break through, often having to settle for a substitute role.

He understandably doesn’t like this and is thinking about leaving, something the Barcelona management has no objection to. The Blaugranas coach Xavi himself has reportedly stopped counting on the African midfielder, the 42-year-old coach and former Barcelona footballer is giving space to other players in the midfield.

Italian journalist Carlo Pellegatti has now come forward to say that Kessié has asked his agent to negotiate a return to AC Milan, where he spent the best years of his career and was one of the central figures in the Italian big club’s quest for the coveted scudetto, the Italian league title, last year.

AC Milan are reportedly not keen on Kessié’s return

However, the Milan side’s attitude is said to be different to what Kessié would have wanted. The Rossoneri, led by sporting manager Paolo Maldini, are reportedly not very keen on the services of their former employee. In short, Kessié failed to prove his loyalty to the San Siro champions last season, so he can’t be too surprised now.

Moreover, his agent is said to have had talks with rival Inter Milan during last season, which of course was a thorn in the side of AC officials. Sandro Tonali and Ismaël Bennacero are currently operating almost flawlessly at the central midfielder position, so Kessié could easily be left on the substitutes’ bench again, just like he is now at Barcelona.

Kessié has started a total of 13 competitive matches for the Spanish La Liga leader in the current season, during which he has been among the goalscorers once. However, he only spent 489 minutes on the pitch, which even considering that he played almost every game in Milan, bites hard.

Source: Italian Football TV