Franck Kessie could be Liverpool’s ideal Gini Wijnaldum 2.0

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Liverpool would like to sign Franck Kessie, according to reports. He could be an ideal Gini Wijnaldum replacement.

Gazzetta Dello Sport claim Liverpool are in the mix for Franck Kessie. The Ivorian could leave AC Milan as he enters the final year of his contract.

Kessie wants around £5m per year after tax and Milan might not give him that. He doesn’t want to leave the club but the possibility is there.

And Liverpool are one club hoping to tempt him away. That sounds good to us.

The Reds currently have a hole in their squad, after all, as Gini Wijnaldum left this summer. They’re down a world-class box-to-box midfielder and those aren’t exactly easy to come by.

But in Kessie, perhaps they’ve found one.

Franck Kessie

Kessie isn’t quite world-class just yet. He’s playing at a great level but hasn’t proven himself at the absolute top.

But he’s still only 24. His room for growth seems huge and Wijnaldum is actually a testament to that. The Dutchman joined Liverpool at 25 – a year older than Kessie.

We all saw just how far he came along under Jurgen Klopp. Kessie, surely, could be a similar success story.

So it’s exciting to see that the Milan man can already do so much. He comfortably averages over a tackle, an interception, and a shot per game. Few players can do that. Wijnaldum couldn’t.

Throw in 0.8 key passes per game and you’re looking at a player who’s pretty comfortable doing it all.

The big difference, and where we think Kessie would improve, is in his consistent passing. Wijnaldum keeps the ball better than pretty much anyone in the world.

His pass completion rate of 92.7% was the fifth-best in the Premier League last season. Three players ahead of him were centre-backs and the other Mohamed Elneny.

Elneny takes next to no risks with his passing, however, creating just 0.2 chances per game. Wijnaldum triples that number.

Kessie averaged 88.9 last season. That would put him in the Premier League’s top 25 but it’s a number Liverpool would hope to increase in order to get their Wijnaldum 2.0.

But the fundamentals are there. If Liverpool want their next Wijnaldum, we’re not sure it gets better than Kessie. The Reds should absolutely move if he’s available this summer.