How Barcelona will line up with Franck Kessie
Carlo Garganese
- 22 Mar 2022 09:30 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona have completed their first signing of the 2022-23 season.
It has not yet been officially confirmed but all reliable sources report that AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie has penned a pre-contract in order to join Barcelona on a Bosman Transfer this summer.
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Kessie will arrive for free as his Milan contract expires at the end of the current campaign. He will officially become a Barcelona player on July 1.
The 25-year-old has signed a four-year contract worth €7 million per season.
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But where will he fit in at Camp Nou?
For the purposes of this XI, we'll look at players already at the club and assuming that Ousmane Dembele does indeed sign a new contract to stay.
First of all, it should be noted that it is unlikely that Kessie will be the kind of Barcelona regular who starts every game.
Barca already boast arguably the best central midfield options in all of Europe with Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Gavi and fellow youngsters Nico Gonzalez and Riqui Puig.
Xavi’s first-choice midfield trio in his 4-3-3 will likely continue to be Busquets in the deepest role, with De Jong as a right central midfielder and Pedri as a left central midfielder.
This trio focuses mostly on ball possession, quick, short and creative passing.
But Xavi realises that if they have any weaknesses, it is that they can be a bit lightweight and so the manager was keen to sign Kessie in order to bring in some muscle.
The Ivorian is built like a bull, impossible to shrug off the ball and also combative in the tackle. He covers a lot of ground and is also no slouch technically, although he will need to move the ball a lot faster if he is to flourish at Barca.
Positionally, he would be most suited on the right/centre-hand side of the three-man midfield, thus taking De Jong’s place in games where Xavi wants more brawn in his team.
Busquets turns 34 this year and so will be expected to be rotated more next season. Kessie is not naturally a holding midfielder, although he can play in that role if needed. What is more likely is that when Busquets is rested, De Jong moves back and Kessie plays as a right/centre midfielder.
For Milan this season, Kessie has played both in a two-man centre midfield in a 4-2-3-1 and, more recently, as the central attacking midfielder in that formation after Sandro Tonali and Ismael Bennacer nailed down the double pivot positions.
So, if Xavi decides to tweak his system, Kessie is tactically adaptable enough to play in other roles.
There is not much else to say about the rest of the team, although we know that Barcelona are planning to sign a central striker and also to bring in a right-back and central defenders this summer.
So expect new players in those positions come next season.
