Reports: Roma Lands Kessie for €28M

A day after lamenting about the unrelenting Franck Kessie to Roma rumors, ones that have been churning for several months now, it seems a deal is afoot. The Corriere dello Sport reports that Atalanta has, at long last, accepted a transfer bid from Roma, one that will see the 20-year-old Ivorian midfielder move to the Olimpico this summer.

As far as the particulars are concerned, Roma are forking over €28 million for Kessie, plus loans of primavera defender Riccardo Marchizza and forward Marco Tumminello, each of whom will move to Bergamo in June. For his part, Kessie will pull down a cool €1.4 million per season on a five-year deal, one that will keep him in the City of Seven Hills through 2022.

In (reportedly) landing Kessie, Roma outbid or at least outwitted Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Liverpool and several other clubs, so this is no minor coup; this is a huge signing. Whether or not he is the second coming of Yaya Toure, Kessie is without a doubt one of the best midfield prospects in the game and joins a potentially loaded midfield next year, as Roma could be rolling out a central core of Radja Nainggolan, Kevin Strootman, Daniele De Rossi, Franck Kessie, Leandro Paredes and possibly Lorenzo Pellegrini, though one would imagine one of the latter two will be a sacrificial lamb.

No matter how the dominoes shake out, this is a huge move for Monchi and company, and depending on what, if any, corresponding moves follow, it could be a dramatic signal of the club’s future intent.