Franck Kessie’s presence in central midfield has elevated Milan’s performances as he has become an immovable force, and his exploits have not gone unnoticed.
The Ivory Coast international has registered one of Milan’s highest caps this season, appearing 36 times and scoring 10 goals in the process. One man who is truly impressed with Kessie’s presence in the red and black shirt is former Serie A forward Antonio Cassano.
Cassano called Kessie ‘the soul of AC Milan’ in his latest interview with Bobo TV (via MilanLive).
Speaking of his performance against Hellas Verona over the weekend, Cassano said: “Kessie is crazy, he kept the midfield alone on Sunday. Set, protect.
“He is the soul of AC Milan, more than Ibra and Romagnoli. For a year and two months he has been doing shocking things.”
The defensive midfielder is one of Stefano Pioli’s key players. The Italian coach has used Kessie in all but one match throughout the Serie A season, when the midfielder missed Lazio’s visit to San Siro before Christmas due to yellow card accumulation.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Calciomercato.it) reported earlier today that it is not only the renewals of Donnarumma and Calhanoglu that are in the thoughts of Paolo Maldini, he also wants to enter talks with Kessie. Maldini and Massara would like to avoid finding themselves in a tough situation and want to find an agreement for a contract renewal with a pay rise.