Chelsea are still in negotiation for Atlanta’s midfielder Franck Kessie as both the clubs are having extensive talks to reach a deal, according to the reports.
The Blues are keen to buy the Ivorian midfielder who is touted as the “next Yaya Toure” and the 20-year old is currently living up to the expectations as he has been Atlanta’s most impressive midfielder in the first half of the season.
Despite Chelsea’s continuous efforts to sign him this month, Atlanta are hopeful of keeping him at least until the summer as they have recently rejected a £21.3m bid rejected for the Ivory Coast international last week.
The Serie A outfit are looking for a massive £34m to sell him during the winter window as Blues are looking to negotiate to get him for a much cheaper price.
Earlier this week, Blues manager Antonio Conte has revealed that Chelsea are set to do some business in January as they have already lost Oscar to Shanghai SIPG while Mikel is also expected to leave in January.
Conte said: “I have to talk with the club. There are some positions that if we can find the right solution we will take it.
“This championship is long. But also I know the difficulty of the market, to find the right solution, the right player won’t be easy.
“But we are talking about it.”
The youngster has made an impressive 16 league appearances for Atlanta in the first half and has caught the eyes of big clubs across Europe as he has scored 6 goals and assisted two more in the league.
Kessie’s agent has also confirmed that there is a huge interest from the big clubs in England as they are all are desperate to sign the 20-year old.
His agent George Atangana said: “We have a lot of interest from the Premier League – Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal.
“I cannot say at this stage how much he will cost but we are talking about one of the best young players in the world.”
Kessie will now join Ivory Coast national team as he is set to play a major role in the upcoming African Cup of Nations that would end in early February.