The act of branding a youth prospect as a new somebody has become quite a fashion in modern football and its latest inclusion is 19-year old Atalanta sensation Frank Kessie. Kessie has been a revelation this season for his club and has been attracting a lot of attention from some of the biggest clubs across Europe. Juventus, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City all reported to be interested in the player who almost joined Sunderland over the summer but the move didn’t happen due to issues regarding the work permit of the player.
The midfielder managed to make a mark in his career right from the very start and having emerged in his home country with Stella Club in Abidjan. Kessie was already a full Ivory Coast international by the time he joined Atalanta on loan in January 2015, having made his debut for the national team against Sierra Leone in 2014 as a 17-year-old.
After a spell of six months, Atalanta made the move permanent and loaned him to Cesena in Serie B where under the guidance of Massimo Drago, the youngster formed a blockbuster partnership with on-loan Juventus starlet Stefano Sensi and took the club to the play offs while being selected for a place in the Serie B’s team of the season. It was under the guidance of Drago that the 19-year old was transformed into a lethal midfielder from a centre back.
Having previously developed the likes of Alessandro Florenzi and Federico Bernardeschi from prospective talents into full-blooded internationals, Drago has earned a reputation in Italy and had a deep impact on the rise of Kessie as well.
Having incredible balance and upper body strength which allows him to almost bounce his opponents when they try to challenge him, his ability to execute the late runs into the opposition box from the midfield and on the ball abilities are the reason why he has been branded already as ‘The Next Yaya Toure’. There are obviously some shortcomings and they need to be worked upon.
The tactical knowledge and maturity take the front seat in that category, and the player also acknowledges that he needs to improve his tactical knowledge of the game. In fact, Kessie states that it is one of the reasons why he chose to move to the Serie A, which he claims to be tactically the best league in the world. Considering that he is only 19, there is a lot of scope and time for improvement. The midfielder has had quite a lot of international experience as well having represented Ivory Coast in the U-17 World Cup as the team’s captain. For the senior team, he has 4 caps till now.
This season started on a brilliant note for the midfielder with him scoring 4 goals in the first 5 games in the league. The 19-year old has also been Atalanta’s best performer with 8 games played alongside veteran defender Andrea Masiello. With interest from almost all the big clubs, he is one player whose future would be very exciting as the transfer window draws closer. We just hope that he continues to get the playing time which he is receiving at the moment so that the upward trajectory of his career is not halted.
