Tottenham Hotspur have received a huge transfer boost in their pursuit of Franck Kessie in 2022...

What's the word?

According to Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport this weekend, the Ivory Coast midfielder has rejected AC Milan's latest contract offer and appears destined to depart the Serie A giants in January or at the end of the season.

Spurs were linked with a move to the 24-year-old last week, with Claudio Raimondi of Sportmediaset (via Calciomercato.it) claiming that the north Londoners were leading the race to seal Kessie on a free transfer.

It's thought that the Lilywhites were prepared to offer a yearly salary between €7m (£6m) and €8m (£6.8m), which is more than what Milan are prepared to dish out.

Huge boost

This will come as a massive boost to sporting director Fabio Paratici, who has already worked his magic during the summer transfer window, as well as manager Nuno Santo, who should welcome a player of Kessie's calibre.

Indeed, the box-to-box machine is lethal at either end of the pitch, having scored a whopping 13 goals from the engine room last season - a feat only bettered by the talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the San Siro.

Furthermore, the £34m-rated star averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.2 dribbles per league outing, via WhoScored, which only goes to show that he could be a Mousa Dembele-like presence in the heart of Nuno's midfield. One that has a better eye for goal, too.

It's no wonder that Kessie has received plenty of glowing endorsements over the course of his career, ranging from his current boss, Stefano Pioli dubbing him a "complete player", to ex-coach Vincenzo Montella once lauding him as an "extraordinary player" with "sublime intelligence."

With Tanguy Ndombele's future likely to rumble on into the next window, where the Frenchman may well be on the chopping block again, it would make sense for Paratici and co to start looking for a replacement.

Kessie would be available for nothing in January, so it would certainly be a smart move from Paratici and co, especially after this fresh boost. Nuno and the fans would love a player of this quality at the club.

They must be excited heading into the next window.

AND in other news, Forget Alli: £18m-rated Spurs flop dubbed "perfect" by Poch could be reborn under Nuno...