Brozovic closer to Barcelona as Kessie agrees swap deal

Carlo Garganese

• 17 Jan 2023 13:40 GMT
• 3 min read

Barcelona flop Franck Kessie has agreed to join Inter Milan, making a swap deal with Marcelo Brozovic possible, according to Alfredo Pedulla.

Barca and Inter are currently in talks over a part-exchange deal which will see Kessie and Brozovic swap clubs.

Pedulla reports that Kessie has now given the green light to join Inter, despite his past at city rivals Milan.

Premier League 2022/23 January transfers: All the Done Deals

However, the swap is far from being advanced as Brozovic has not agreed to a move to Barca while the two clubs would need to agree on financial compensation.

Sky Italia reports that Inter want cash included in the exchange, whereas Barca may value Kessie higher given he is four years younger than Brozovic.

Kessie up for sale

Barcelona have decided to put Kessie up for sale as he is well down the pecking order at Camp Nou.

Barcelona only signed Kessie on a free transfer last summer when his contract at Milan expired. He arrived on a four-year contract.

However, he has endured a miserable first six months at the club.

With the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong present, it was always going to be difficult for Kessie to nail down a first-team place.

And so it has proven as he has started just two La Liga games, plus six appearances from the bench for a total of 245 minutes. He has scored just once in all competitions.

As for Brozovic, he has been a key player for Inter in recent years but is now 30 and has suffered from increasing injury problems this season.

Inter also have financial problems - as do Barcelona - and need to make a €60m profit via sales by June 30.

This swap is seen as a deal that will help both clubs economically, and thus negotiations will continue to see if a transfer can be done.