Juventus have reportedly re-opened dialogue with Barcelona over Franck Kessie’s return to Serie A as Cristiano Giuntoli wants to make the Ivorian his first signing.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the parties have re-entered negotiations to allow the unsettled Camp Nou midfielder to revive his career in more familiar surroundings.
Giuntoli remains keen on a loan deal with an option to buy, while Barcelona ideally want to cash in on the 26-year-old this summer to fund their recruitment programme.
Kessie’s desire is to stay in La Liga despite spending most of his maiden season in Spain on the fringes of Xavi Hernandez’s squad, as he has already turned down several proposals from Saudi Arabia.
Juventus believe they could change his mind, but their priority is to offload the players that have fallen out of favour – namely Denis Zakaria and Weston McKennie.
With Fiorentina on the brink of rescuing underperforming Arthur Melo from his Turin nightmare, the club’s attention has switched to Zakaria and McKennie.
Both players spent last season on loan at Chelsea and Leeds United, respectively, but failed to earn permanent deals and have returned to the Allianz Stadium.
Zakaria won’t board the plane for the United States with the rest of the Juventus squad for their pre-season tour, with West Ham United emerging as a potential escape route for the Swiss midfielder.
David Moyes is in the market for a new deep-lying playmaker after reluctantly selling his captain Declan Rice to Arsenal in a record-breaking move.
McKennie’s situation is a bit more complicated. He is still up for sale, but unlike the ex-Borussia Monchengladbach man, he has made the pre-season squad.
Juventus will entertain offers for the United States star, although they’d also be willing to keep hold of him if they fail to receive a satisfying bid.
Either way, the Italians must part with one of their two second-string midfielders to make way for Kessie before taking a more aggressive approach with Barcelona.
