Tottenham's bid to sign AC Milan's midfielder Franck Kessie in January has reportedly been frustrated by the Serie A giants' refusal to accept a swap deal involving Tanguy Ndombele.
According to Il Corriere della Sera and SportMediaset, Milan would rather keep the Ivory Coast international until the end of the season even if that involved running the risk of losing him for free in the summer.
The latter outlet indicated Ndombele's £8 million-a-year salary is a significant stumbling block for the Rossoneri.
Kessie will be out of contract in June and Milan have so far failed to convince him to extend his spell at the San Siro, meaning that from January 1 the 25-year-old has been free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club.
Kessie, who was named in the Ivory Coast squad for the upcoming African Cup of Nations, earns approximately £1.8 million-a-year.
According to Il Corriere dello Sport, he is looking for a deal in the region of £6.7 million, significantly above Milan's offer of a £5 million-a-year deal.
ESPN, meanwhile, reported last week the Serie A outfit had tabled a £5.4 million-a-year proposal to the midfielder, who joined on loan from Atalanta in 2017 and made the deal permanent in 2019.
Spurs are understood to be among several suitors for the midfielder, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain also keeping tabs on Kessie.
Speaking last week, Antonio Conte made clear he was keen to strengthen his squad this month.
'After only two weeks, I said we need to improve the quality of the squad,' he said.
'For sure we need to improve the quality of the squad.
'I was sure after seven days, 10 days, two weeks about this. And then I make the evaluation who are the players I can count on and the players I can't count [on].'
Kessie has scored 35 goals and has provided 16 assists in 205 appearances for Milan and has developed into a key figure in Stefano Pioli's team, who currently trail city rivals Inter Milan by four points at the top of Serie A.
Kessie has scored 14 league goals in 2021, the most of any Milan midfielder in a calendar year since Kaka netted 15 in 2008.