Chelsea Transfer News: Franck Kessie Offers Rejected, Latest Blues Rumours

Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have had €25 million (£21.4 million) bids for Franck Kessie rejected by Atalanta, with the Serie A club believing they can get more money for the player next summer, per Sky Sport Italia (via Football Italia). 

The Ivory Coast international has impressed during his first campaign as a senior player in Italy, notching six goals in 16 appearances for high-flying Atalanta, according to WhoScored.com.

Kessie is a powerful and athletic footballer, who told Sky Italia he has "two football role models: Yaya Toure and Michael Essien," per TalkSport.

Unsurprisingly, the club believe the 20-year-old's value will only increase as the season progresses and so will reject any further advances.

Kessie has been at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, but their early elimination means the midfielder should be ready to feature in Atalanta's match against Torino on Sunday.

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

The Italian club will be delighted to see him back, given they have lost twice since he left for Gabon. A 3-2 defeat to Juventus in the Coppa Italia was followed by a damaging 2-1 loss at Lazio on Jan. 15. Atalanta sit sixth in the table, just six points behind third-placed Napoli.

Chelsea have barely faltered in their pursuit of the Premier League trophy, but central midfield remains arguably the weakest area of the team. If Nemanja Matic or N'Golo Kante were injured, Chelsea would have to call upon Cesc Fabregas, who is defensively unreliable, to fill in.

It comes as no surprise to see manager Antonio Conte in the market for a strong, combative central midfielder like Kessie, as football writer Jack Rathborn pointed out on Twitter:

But the Italian will need to look elsewhere if he is to strengthen before the transfer deadline, and with time running out, a sixth signing of the season looks unlikely. However, Chelsea's last-minute purchase of David Luiz on Aug. 31 caught most people off guard. A late move for a central midfielder could still be on the horizon.

More transfer activity can be expected after the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Brentford on Saturday. Four of Chelsea's fringe players—Asmir Begovic, Michy Batshuayi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Charly Musonda—will have their futures decided after they make rare appearances against the Championship side, according to Matt Law of the Telegraph.

Batshuayi, Loftus-Cheek and Begovic all want first-team football and may make loan moves this month, although Conte is believed to want all three to remain Chelsea players until the summer.

With so many potentially on their way out, Conte and Chelsea may feel that recruiting new players is a necessity. Kessie, however, will likely not move to London any time soon.