Al-Ahli star Franck Kessie could make a shock return to Serie A after Napoli coach Antonio Conte placed him high on his wishlist. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, there’s a genuine possibility for the former Milan star to head back to his stomping ground in the coming weeks.
Kessie was knocking on the door of the Milan captaincy in 2022 when he decided against renewing his contract at San Siro. He left the club to join Barcelona, which proved a lifetime mistake as he flopped at Camp Nou. After just one season in La Liga, he moved to Saudi Arabia.
However, the Ivorian midfielder could return to European football sooner than expected, with Napoli looking to bring him back to Serie A. Conte is a long-term admirer of Kessie. He tried to lure him to Inter four years ago but failed, just as he did during his time at Tottenham Hotspur.
Stars may have aligned for Conte to fulfill his long-standing wish at Napoli. Tasked with redesigning the Partenoei midfield after the departures of Piotr Zielinski and Diogo Demme, the Italian tactician has turned to a familiar face to fill the vacancy.
But Kessie won’t come cheap. Napoli would, in all likelihood, have to pour around €15 million into Al-Ahli’s bank accounts to land the 27-year-old. With talks with Paris Saint-Germain over Victor Osimhen’s switch to Ligue 1 reaching advanced stages, the transfer fee shouldn’t be a problem.
Kessie’s whopping €14m-a-year wages could throw a spanner in the works. Napoli can’t match the player’s salary in the Saudi Pro League and would probably need to ask him to cut his earnings in order to join.
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