Barcelona and Inter continue Brozovic-Kessie swap deal talks

Carlo Garganese

• 12 Feb 2023 11:45 CST
• 3 min read

Barcelona and Inter are continuing talks over a swap deal that will see Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic change clubs during the summer.

Both the Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport confirm that both teams are locked in negotiations over a summer deal.

Barcelona and Inter had been in talks during the January transfer window to do a swap but were not able to get a deal over the line.

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

However, there is far more chance of the swap deal being closed this summer.

Kessie has already long given the green light to join Inter, despite his past at city rivals Milan.

Brozovic has not yet agreed to a move to Barca but is listening to their offer. The two clubs also need to agree on financial compensation given that Brozovic is four years older than Kessie.

Sky Italia reports that Inter want cash included in the exchange, whereas Barca may value Kessie higher given the age difference.

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 10 appearances from the bench for a total of 357 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.