AC Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has jumped to the defence of Franck Kessie amid the storm surrounding the midfielder at the moment.
There is a two-fold hysteria around Kessie currently, the first of which is related to his future as the Ivorian has just a few months left on his contract which expires in June 2022 and he appears to be far away from renewing, so transfer links are rife as are the voices of fans and pundits advising him over his future.
The second issue is that Kessie’s performances – with the exception of the odd game – have not yet hit the same levels he reached last season when he established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the league, if not the best. He gave away a penalty in the derby against Inter for example and was sent off against Atletico Madrid.
Pioli spoke at the pre-match press conference on the eve of the trip to Fiorentina and was asked for his assessments on how Kessie is at the moment, given the many headlines that bear his name.
“I saw him well. In the derby he was judged only for the episode of the penalty, in which he could have done better, but in the second half he grew; he came back well, ready to be available. I’ll try to choose good for those who have to play and for those to take over,” he said (via MilanNews).
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