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Al-Ahli have reportedly reached an agreement with Barcelona over signing Franck Kessie this summer.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the transfer fee will be in the region of €15 million. The player is set to sign a contract until June 2026 and will be Al-Ahli's first marquee signing in midfield in the current window.
Before Kessie, the Jeddah-based outfit brought in Edouard Mendy, Allan Saint-Maximin, Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino. He was also courted by Juventus but the Saudi Pro League club have won the race to secure his signature.
The Ivory Coast international was signed on a free transfer by Barcelona from AC Milan last summer but failed to secure a regular starting berth under Xavi Hernandez. 21 of his 28 La Liga appearances came from the bench.
Xavi has overseen the arrivals of Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan this summer after the exit of Sergio Busquets. He also has Gavi, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong at his disposal even after Pablo Torre's loan move to Girona.
Kessie's fate at Barcelona was a topic of intense speculation in recent weeks. He was handed just 45 minutes of action during the Catalan giants' pre-season tour and was an unused substitute in their 1-0 friendly win against AC Milan on 2 August.
Barcelona's Franck Kessie explained reason for his special celebration
Franck Kessie's later goal to win Barcelona the El Clasico in March would undoubtedly be one of the most memorable moments in his career.
With the La Liga game tied at 1-1, Kessie found himself at the end of a low cross from Alejandro Balde to fire home a first-time finish in stoppage time. After the win at Spotify Camp Nou, he sat down for an interview with SPORT and Mundo Deportivo and answered several questions.
One of those questions was regarding Kessie's special salute celebration that he dished out after scoring the winner against Real Madrid. The 26-year-old responded (h/t BarcaUniversal):
"I celebrate my goals with a military salute to honor my father, who was in the military [Ivorian military]. I lost him when I was very young, but I know that he’s proudly watching me somewhere."
Al-Ahli fans will be hoping to see Kessie's celebration first-hand and as many times as possible as they aim for their first league title since the 2015-16 season. He is a box-to-box midfielder whose main responsibilities lie in linking up play between defense and attack and helping his team off the ball.
A personal-best return of 13 strikes in 37 Serie A games during AC Milan's Scudetto-winning 2020-21 season showcased that he has goals in his locker too.
