Blow to Man United, Tottenham as Barcelona Win Race for Talented Ivory Coast International

• Latest reports indicate Barcelona have won the race for talented Ivory Coast international Franck Kessie
• A verbal agreement was reached, and the 25-year old recently completed his medical tests
• Kessie is considered one of the best midfielders in the transfer market at the moment

A number of Premier League clubs including Manchester United have been dealt a huge blow as their key summer target Franck Kessie has reportedly reached an agreement with Barcelona.

Barcelona were heavy favourites to land the AC Milan midfielder and have been tracking his situation in recent months.

Kessie, 25, is out of contract at Milan at the end of the current campaign.

A string of Premier League sides have previously expressed interest in his services including Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and Aston Villa.

But according to journalist Fabrizio Romani, Kessie will now join Barcelona, and a deal is set to be finalized after Kessie completed his medical.

Ranking the best Spurs players of all time and more fun facts

Football

"Franck Kessie has already completed his medical tests with Barcelona in Lugano, as reported by DiMarzio." Fabrizio Romano said on Twitter

"The verbal agreement has been reached days ago for €6.5m net guaranteed salary.

Official contracts will be completed in the coming weeks. Here we go soon

At AC Milan, Kessie made 214 appearances since arriving at the club from Atalanta in 2017. His move was initially on loan and he spent two seasons with the Rossonerri as a loanee before making the deal permanent.

With AC Milan, Kessi managed 36 goals and a further 16 assists, which is rather impressive for a player naturally positioned at the heart of midfield.

Barcelona’s revival under Xavi

Barcelona might have been in a crisis at the start of the season both on and off the pitch, but the club has done superbly to overturn fortunes.

This can be largely attributed to the appointment of Xavi, who has managed to take the club from ninth to third on the log in a matter of months.

Barcelona record heartbreaking result against Galatasaray in Europa League clash

Football

Barca has also seen the arrivals of exciting players in the January transfer window including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traore (on loan).

The Catalan giants' recent 4-0 triumph over Real Madrid reestablished them as one of the big guns in Spain and Europe.