Chelsea have had a £21million bid rejected by Atalanta for transfer target Franck Kessie.
The Blues have been chasing the Ivorien midfielder among a host of clubs in Europe after his agent confirmed that Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool are all chasing Kessie.
The 20-year-old midfielder was part of the Cote d’ivoire team that crashed out of the African Cup of Nations in Gabon but Chelsea have continued their efforts to bring him to the Stamford Bridge.
Reports in the Sky Italia have it that Atalanta have rejected the Blues’ approach for the midfielder, turning down a £21million bid for Kessie.
The report also claim that the Serie A side is holding out till summer with suggestions that his value will increase as they also want to keep their stars after selling Roberto Gagliardini to Inter while Mattia Caldara is expected to Juventus in 2018.
Kessi has been a brilliant figure for Atalanta since his debut season in 2015, scoring seven goals and two assists in 17 appearances.
The 20-year-old star is regarded to be the next ‘Yaya Toure’ due to his ability to make box-to-box runs while providing physical presence in the midfield.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte currently have adequate cover in the midfield with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Chalobah deputising for Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante.
