Wolves must regret transfer decision as Aston Villa 'table offer' for £43m star

A 25-year-old, box-to-box midfielder who is capable of chipping in with a few goals is just what Wolverhampton Wanderers are missing.

That player, Franck Kessie, will become available for free in the summer, but Wolves have probably missed the boat at this point.

Back in the summer of 2019, Wolves were on the lookout for a midfielder of that type to add to Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker. Remarkably, three years on, Wolves are still lacking a player of Kessie’s mould and relying on the same midfield trio.

Mario Lemina was also linked with a move to Molineux at the time, but it must be said that Wolves can feel vindicated in not pursuing the Gabon international.

Kessie, on the other hand, has developed into one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe in the past two and a half years. He scored 14 goals for AC Milan across all competitions last season, and has five in 20 Serie A games this term.

The Ivory Coast international is being courted by numerous clubs ahead of his contract at the San Siro expiring in June, and he’s now free to negotiate his next move. Premier League clubs Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa have all been linked with Kessie, but Barcelona appear to be frontrunners for his signature.

Earlier this week it was claimed Villa have become the latest team to table an offer to Kessie and his representatives.

Given the array of talent Barcelona have in their midfield, Kessie - now valued at £43million by Transfermarkt - might be better served moving to England where his chances of regular football will be higher.

But a move to Wolves now appears to be out of the question, despite Kessie possessing the exact qualities Bruno Lage’s engine room is lacking.

No one really