Report: Atalanta spurns Chelsea's €25M bid for Franck Kessie

Atalanta's Franck Kessie, broadly dubbed as Yaya Toure's natural successor in the Ivory Coast midfield, has been subject of a rejected €25-million (£21.25-million) offer from Premier League leader Chelsea, reports the Guardian's Ed Aarons.

The 20-year-old, who has earned plenty of plaudits in the Bergamo outfit's unexpected rise to sixth place in Serie A, could instead be subject of a bidding war reaching closer to the club's valuation of around €40m (£34m) if the list of interested clubs cited by Kessie's representative is to be believed.

"We have a lot of interest from the Premier League - Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Arsenal," agent George Atangana told the Guardian.

"I cannot say at this stage how much he will cost but we are talking about one of the best young players in the world. But for us the most important thing is that the technical project is the right one for him. Franck is very young so we have to be very careful about his development."

Kessie almost moved to Sunderland in August, but a failed work permit scuppered that transfer. Given his enhanced reputation in Italy over the past few months, and his naming in Ivory Coast's provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, he isn't expected to face any such obstacles this time around.

Atangana says he's due to meet with Chelsea to discuss a potential deal next week.

"Chelsea are very interested and it is a great club but we must take our time to consider all the options," he added. "Now we are in January so he has to play at the African Cup of Nations for Ivory Coast so I am not going to rush anything."