Franck Kessie, anyone?

I was thinking of creating a similar thread.

Best player on the pitch over the two legs (well him and Shaw probably.)

Very comfortable on the ball, aggressive, linked up well and controlled the game at times.

Seems like one who could make the step up to a top team and progress nicely.

Ticks a lot of boxes. Plus cool hair and low socks is a thumbs up from me. :wenger:
 
Would be a neat upgrade on Fred, but wouldn’t fill the Kante-sized hole at DM we have.
 
AgentSmith said:
Would a midfield of:

Kessie Pogba
Bruno​

be viable enough to play consistently in 90% of games next season?
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Even if all 3 weren't playing 2 of the 3 along with 1 of mctominay, Fred or Donny would give us many options for the coming season. How much would Kessie actually cost though?
 
Samid said:
Most of those goals are penalties. I think I've read in the past that we often steer away from African players because of Afcon in the middle of the season, might play a part here.
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We just signed Diallo and we've already got Bailly?
 
Adcuth said:
Even if all 3 weren't playing 2 of the 3 along with 1 of mctominay, Fred or Donny would give us many options for the coming season. How much would Kessie actually cost though?
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Well he has a year left on his contract so it probably would be relatively manageable.

My issue was more that Kessie doesn’t seem like the player needed to make that Pogba-Bruno combination work.

A good player no doubt, but not the right one imo.
 
I liked him and his partner Maite, both looked class until Pogba got involved.
 
UNITED ACADEMY said:
He's not really a DM, I think he's a box to box and just to put a note on it that 8 of those goals were from penalties.
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Could be, although Whoscores classifies him as a DM, and according to Footballcritic he has played 43 of his last 50 games as a DM, so undoubtably he would fit into our 4-2-3-1 system (which Milan plays as well). His stats also suggests he´s better defending than attacking (https://fmdataba.com/21/p/661857/franck-kessie/).
 
Dve said:
Could be, although Whoscores classifies him as a DM, and according to Footballcritic he has played 43 of his last 50 games as a DM, so undoubtably he would fit into our 4-2-3-1 system (which Milan plays as well). His stats also suggests he´s better defending than attacking (https://fmdataba.com/21/p/661857/franck-kessie/).
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First of all, AC Milan plays in 4231 so whoscored classify ''double pivot'' as DM but doesn't mean he operates the same way as what people suggest about signing a new DM and second that is Football Manager game data. I watched AC Milan few times and from what I watched him this season, he is a box to box in that double pivot.
 
Watched him for years. Not good enough.

We need a midfielder who can dictate play, excel under pressure, etc. He can't do that.
 
Sultan said:
Although he ended up on the losing side I thought his performances over the 2 legs were very good and could be a great addition for our midfield. Very energetic and hardly misplaced a pass. Replacement for Matic or could give Fred and Scott some competition?

I have only ever watched, or heard of him over the last 2 games against United. What do Serie A observers who have watched him on a regular basis think?
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He was absolutely fantastic across both games. I could easily see him playing as an 8 for us and doing very well indeed. Easily Milans best player with the possible exception of Rafael Leao, who was great as well. That said - his (non penalty) goalscoring record is extremely poor, considering how good a player he is, so he might just end up as an alternative to Fred.

To add to the thread a bit - here are Kessie's thoughts himself


Franck Kessie said:
“I like the Premier League and in particular Manchester United, the club I dream of playing for,” he told Tuttomercatoweb.

“Chelsea? That is also a big club, nobody would turn them down, but I dream of United.”
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He looks like a class act from the little I've seen of him.

A mobile box-to-box midfielder with a wide, accurate passing range is just what we need right now.

AgentSmith said:
Would a midfield of:

Kessie Pogba
Bruno​

be viable enough to play consistently in 90% of games next season?
Click to expand...

90% of games is asking a lot, but could certainly see that midfield proving themselves a force in the Prem. Second only to City in terms of the strongest first-choice midfield in the league?
 
Abraxas said:
It's worth noting most of his goals seem to be penalties so I don't think goal threat would be a major reason to buy him.

However I did like his work on the ball. He always seemed to take a touch into the right position to beat the press, he always had more space than anybody else (especially first leg) and his passing was very accurate, even with the cheekier lobbed passes. Nobody could shrug him off the ball either.

Very interesting player. Could have just been a great performance against us, there's been a few over the years by fairly average players in Europe - Pione Sisto had a God like game against us. But it did not seem that way, most of what he was doing can just be subscribed to very good technique and awareness and there's no reason that should disappear, they weren't high risk actions that may not come off in another game.

Depending on whether he's available and the price involved it looks an interesting option as we do need a little more in midfield and he is quite different to McTominay and Fred. It might be the kind of signing that suits us with a limited budget following recent financial results that plugs a hole while allowing us to direct funds to massive issues.
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+1, nice post.
 
Random Task said:
He looks like a class act from the little I've seen of him.

A mobile box-to-box midfielder with a wide, accurate passing range is just what we need right now.



90% of games is asking a lot, but could certainly see that midfield proving themselves a force in the Prem. Second only to City in terms of the strongest first-choice midfield in the league?
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Well 90% would be every game bar City and Liverpool home and away as an example.

But yeah, it was a slightly arbitrary number used more to show that I think we need to move towards a definitive starting XI. I feel we adapt to the opposition too often at present and that stems from perceived weaknesses in the middle of the pitch (at both CB and CM).

I don’t think Kessie would be the player to help us balance a midfield of Pogba and Bruno while providing stability to the defence.
 
I was really impressed with him over the two legs. Probably their best player.

He's strong, comfortable on the ball, can dictate from deep but also snuff out attacks. Bags of energy, technically astute and a powerful runner.

I think he'd be a great replacement for Matic. I do think he's probably best as a B2B, but seeing as we already have Fred and McTominay, perhaps we can mould him into more of a DM.
 
Absolutely ran the first leg, thought he was brilliant. Very good again last night. Makes everything look so simple. He'd be perfect for us.
 
He reminds me so much of Thomas Partey. Energetic, holding midfielder, has a strike and a half on him, hardly loses the ball with his passing, rangy running style, and for some reason, I think they even have similar looks :lol: I was a massive Partey fan before he went to Arsenal, so I’d love Kessie here sitting to allow Pogba and Bruno to run things.
 
Based on last night I dont think hes an alternative to Fred and Matic. He made 1 tackle and 1 interception. He's very physical and resilliant and finds some neat passes but he'd be more of a Pogba alternative and I dont think he has anywhere near the talent. His goals mostly come from penalties. DVB should be able to provide most of what he does.

Meite would be the one who would be an alternative to Fred and Matic. He played well in the first leg, but our DMs were on top of both last night.
 
I've known him for a while, he is a box to box midfielder, He'll be more like an upgrade on Fred more so than a Matic type deep sitting midfielder, but I feel Ole likes the idea of two box to box midfielders in the in the center covering for each other and picking when to join the attack over a deep sitting midfielder and a box to box but you never know....
 
Don't think he offers enough different to what we have. Good player though
 
Lash said:
Don't think he offers enough different to what we have. Good player though
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You're kidding. Did you watch our midfield 3 trying to pass the ball to a red shirt in the first half last night? A physical midfield presence who's always available, links defence and attack and never almost loses the ball would be right up our alley.
 
Trex said:
I've known him for a while, he is a box to box midfielder, He'll be more like an upgrade on Fred more so than a Matic type deep sitting midfielder, but I feel Ole likes the idea of two box to box midfielders in the in the center covering for each other and picking when to join the attack over a deep sitting midfielder and a box to box but you never know....
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You have known him?
 
Still ill said:
You're kidding. Did you watch our midfield 3 trying to pass the ball to a red shirt in the first half last night? A physical midfield presence who's always available, links defence and attack and never almost loses the ball would be right up our alley.
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Yep, he's basically everything we've been crying out for in midfield. He never seemed to lose possession, despite displaying a range of passing. Looks like an excellent player and would surely thrive in the hustle and bustle of the prem.
 
One year left and wants to play here. Easiest signing Ed could make this summer.
 
Still ill said:
You're kidding. Did you watch our midfield 3 trying to pass the ball to a red shirt in the first half last night? A physical midfield presence who's always available, links defence and attack and never almost loses the ball would be right up our alley.
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Yeah, not denying the first half was bad, but second half it was a completely different story. I didn't see him as the midfielder that linked attack and defence, that was Meite for me. I see him as Scott's role in our midfield.
 
Lash said:
Yeah, not denying the first half was bad, but second half it was a completely different story. I didn't see him as the midfielder that linked attack and defence, that was Meite for me. I see him as Scott's role in our midfield.
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He’s calmer and better on the ball than Scott I would say.

Also probably as good in the tackle.

What I liked about him was he seemed cool under pressure from our pressing and kept it simple but linked up well with his teammates.

We really just need somebody to be defensively sound, tidy enough in passing and who can cover the ground well. If we can get him cheap I think he would do a decent job at that. Better than what we have anyway.
 
Only watched the first game against United but was really impressed by him. Much better than I expected. I actually was surprised nobody had created a thread on him ofter the match.
 
Dve said:
- He dreams of playing for United
- He´s a DM
- He has 14 goals and 2 assists in 44 matches this season
- He has one year left of his contract
- 24 years old

Looks like a no-brainer to me.
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No he is not.
 
He outperformed Fred, Matic and McTominay over both legs. He's at the very least better than 3 of our midfield options. Any regular viewers think he'd make a good Pogba replacement?
 
He'd make a nice replacement for Matic I think.
 
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