Wolves Facing Uphill Battle to Sign Franck Kessie From AC Milan Despite Agreeing Fee

Wolverhampton Wanderers have agreed a fee of €25m plus add-ons with Milan for midfielder Franck Kessie, though the side may struggle to complete a deal before

Wolverhampton Wanderers have agreed a fee of €25m plus add-ons with Milan for midfielder Franck Kessie, though the side may struggle to complete a deal before the transfer window closes.

Nuno Espirito Santo's men have reportedly offered the Ivory Coast international an annual salary of €2.8m, but the player is demanding they up it to €4m instead. Kessie has spent the last two seasons on loan at San Siro from fellow Italian outfit Atalanta, finally making his move permanent in June for €24m.

Milan had already forked out €7m to secure the 22-year-old's services for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns. However, he is not believed to be a part of new Rossoneri head coach Marco Giampaolo's plans.

Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla announced via Twitter that Wolves had made a bid that meets the Serie A side's valuation of Kessie. Additonally, the latter are keen to offload him given their manager's apparent lack of use for the Ivorian.

However, the player's wages are proving a stumbling block as Nuno and the Wanderers hierarchy look to finalise a deal, with the club unable to sign new recruits after 5pm.

Kessie was joint-top of the assists charts at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, collecting three as his country reached the quarter finals, where they cruelly lost a penalty shootout to eventual champions Algeria.

He has missed a mere five league matches for Milan in the last two years, though that was during the reign of Gennaro Gattuso, who has since vacated the San Siro hot-seat.