Inter Milan have reportedly made contact with the entourage of Franck Kessie over a mid-season move for the Barcelona midfielder.
The Ivory Coast international previously represented the Nerazzurri's San Siro rivals AC Milan between 2017 and 2022 before leaving on a free transfer over the summer.
Barcelona won the race to bring Kessie to Camp Nou as a free agent, but the 25-year-old has endured a difficult first season of adaptation under Xavi.
Kessie has one goal to show from 13 games in all tournaments for Barcelona, but he has only made two starts in La Liga and a further three in the Champions League.
The midfielder scored his first goal for the Blaugrana in their 5-1 Champions League win over Viktoria Plzen in September, but he is down the pecking order when it comes to midfield spots.
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Sergio Busquets, Gavi and Pedri are all preferred to the former Atalanta BC man, while Frenkie de Jong is also competing for starts under Xavi, who has only awarded Kessie 212 minutes of top-flight action.
Kessie's contract at Barcelona is not due to expire until 2026, but the Catalan giants are believed to be prepared to cash in, and both Aston Villa and Inter have been credited with an interest.
According to Corriere dello Sport - via Fichajes - Simone Inzaghi's side are now stepping up their pursuit and have touched base with Kessie's representatives over a loan deal in January.
Both Inter and Barcelona are dealing with long-standing financial problems at present, and as a result, the Serie A giants are supposedly not considering a permanent move under any circumstances.
The report states that Barcelona would prefer to cut Kessie from the books for good, but they would welcome a loan deal in order to temporarily trim their wage bill.
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Inter are believed to be willing to pay half of Kessie's salary while he finishes the 2022-23 campaign in Italy, and the Ivorian's exit from Camp Nou is now said to be "closer than ever".
Kessie left Stella Club in 2015 to sign for Atalanta, and he ended up making 204 appearances in Italy's top flight for La Dea and AC Milan during a seven-year stay.
The midfielder came up with 41 goals and 16 assists in that time and was an integral figure in the Rossoneri's run to the 2021-22 Scudetto, starting 25 games and scoring six goals.
Barcelona are also facing uncertainty over the futures of De Jong and Busquets, the latter of whom is out of contract at the end of the season and is being tipped to join a club in MLS.
Busquets has said that he is hoping to come to a final decision on his future in February, by which point he would have already been able to open pre-contract talks with foreign clubs.
Ben Knapton
