Atalanta midfielder Franck Kessie was flattered by the level of Premier League interest in him during the January transfer window.
According to a report in the Daily Mail both Chelsea and Manchester United checked out the powerful midfielder who has been compared to Yaya Toure.
Throughout December and January there were reports of interest in the 20-year-old with Spurs and Arsenal also believed to be interested.
Kessie’s agent certainly did his best to earn a move but with Atalanta riding high in Serie A there was no rush to cash in on the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Juventus were also quoted with an interest but weren’t prepared to get involved in an auction or to go beyond their top end price tag of £20m.
Kessie has scored six goals in 19 Serie A matches helping Atalanta into fifth place in Serie A- six points short of Napoli who are in the third Champions League place.