Why West Ham must make a move for Franck Kessie in the summer

In January, the Evening Standard had claimed that West Ham were offered a chance to sign AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie as manager David Moyes wanted to bolster the midfield department. However, no deal materialised and the Hammers ended up signing midfielder Tomas Soucek on loan from Slavia Prague last month.

West Ham are 18th in the league standings – one point adrift of safety and in real danger of suffering relegation to the Championship. They are winless in their last five league games and drew 3-3 with Brighton in their last game.

Tomas Soucek made his West Ham debut against Brighton and did well, although David Moyes’ side dropped points after leading 3-1. Soucek has added quality to the Hammers’ midfield which has been very poor in the 2019/20 campaign.

Declan Rice has endured an inconsistent campaign, while Mark Noble will turn 33 in May and is entering the twilight of his career. Jack Wilshere continues to struggle for fitness and Carlos Sanchez remains out of favour under Moyes. Not to forget, the east London club sold Pedro Obiang to Sassuolo in the summer but failed to bring in a replacement at that time.

Considering that Noble is ageing and Sanchez will be out of contract in June, the West Ham boss should prioritise strengthening his midfield options during the summer transfer window. Having said that, the Hammers must not hesitate to rekindle their interest in Milan’s Franck Kessie.

Kessie, 23, has struggled for consistency at Milan since arriving from Atalanta in 2017, but has stood out this season despite the Italian giants languishing in tenth place in Serie A. He has made 20 Serie A appearances, scoring and assisting a goal each. The midfielder has started 18 out of 23 league games this season.

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At the age of 23, the Ivory Coast international has already amassed 185 appearances at club level. Kessie has also earned 35 caps for his nation, scoring a goal. He could add goals from the midfield and improve West Ham’s productivity in the final third, having netted five and seven goals in the 2017/18 and the 2018/19 Serie A seasons respectively. These are good numbers for a box-to-box midfielder.

Verdict

Kessie is not a finished article and has a lot of room to improve his game. The Ivorian is a quality midfielder and can certainly develop his overall skillset under the guidance of Moyes. Hence, West Ham must secure the AC Milan midfielder’s services in a bid to solve their midfield woes ahead of the 2020/21 season.