Barcelona have had an impressive summer transfer window so far, at least in terms of incomings. Ilkay Gundogan, Inigo Martinez and Oriol Romeu have all been signed, while a deal for Vitor Roque has also been completed, although he won’t join until next year.
Despite this, Barcelona have really struggled to move players on, with only Samuel Umtiti having left on a permanent basis, and as that was due to a mutual contract termination, they did not even receive any money.
Barcelona are looking to sell a number of players this summer, one of which is Franck Kessie. The Ivorian is not in Xavi Hernandez’s plans for the new season, despite having only joined from AC Milan last July.
Kessie has been linked with a number of clubs over the last few weeks, but it is Juventus that appear to be the favourites to sign him. According to Calciomercato (via Sport), Barcelona will meet with their Italian counterparts this weekend in order to discuss a deal.
Juventus do not want to pay a single penny for Kessie, as they would rather sign him on loan, or propose a possible player swap. The report states that one option available for this is Federico Chiesa, who is well regarded among Xavi and his staff.
Chiesa is not on the best of terms with Juventus head coach Max Allegri, and a departure could well be possible this summer. If he does come to Barcelona, it would be a deal that suits the LaLiga champions.
Barcelona appear to be unconvinced by Ansu Fati and Ez Abde as left wing options, and Chiesa could make the position his own if he is signed this summer. On his day, the Italian can be an incredible, which he has shown at different points over the last few years. As well as left wing, Chiesa can also play on the right, as well as at striker.
If he does join, Chiesa would be a very good addition to the Barcelona squad, even as a squad player if he is not a guaranteed starter. However, not everything would be rosy with this deal, are there are a number of drawbacks.
Firstly, Chiesa is very injury prone, which has been shown in recent seasons. Barcelona have had issues with key players being out of action over the last few years, and signing an injury-prone player would not be a good idea.
Furthermore, Chiesa would likely be on a high wage, and given Barcelona’s financial struggles, they would find it tough to register him with LaLiga. It may be that an additional sale is needed before the Italian international can be registered.
There’s no doubt that Chiesa is a very good player on his day, but given that Barcelona already have excellent (and younger) options in Fati and Abde for the left wing, he is not someone that is particularly needed. He would also get in the way of the pair’s growth and chances of regular playing time.
It remains to be seen whether Barcelona do explore a swap deal with Juventus that involves Chiesa and Kessie, but it could be that it is not entirely favourable for them, despite it appearing to be on the surface.
