It would be fair to say that Franck Kessie has struggled so far at FC Barcelona as he has not been given much opportunity by new head coach Xavi.
Calciomercato.com report that Kessie ‘expected a very different start’ to life with Barcelona, whom he decided to sign with as a free agent, leaving Milan after over half a decade in search of a new stimulating project in a new country and league.
The fact Barca went for him aggressively suggested that Xavi would very much find a spot for him in his plans, but the Ivorian seems to be behind Sergio Busquets, Gavi, Pedri but also Frankie de Jong and at the moment even Miralem Pjanic.
Kessie has collected just 37 minutes across 3 appearances and in the Champions League he is not expected to start in the match against Viktoria Plzen.
The former Atalanta man earns €7m net per season with the Blaugrana but is seemingly at the bottom of the hierarchy for now as the fifth choice for Xavi, who has always favoured the technical qualities over the physical ones.
There were also some problems surrounding his registration by the Nou Camp club because of financial regulations. However, Kessie is not one to give up and will try to carve out space.
He should be able to find a role in Barca’s 4-3-3 given Pioli used him both as a defensive midfielder in the double pivot and as an attacking midfielder, but he must tactically integrate and only in time will we know if his choice to leave a club where he was deeply valued was the right one.
