Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is eager to leave London.
When it comes to Premier League midfielders, there aren’t many of this generation that are up there with N’Golo Kante. Winning back-to-back Premier League trophies with Leicester City and Chelsea, alongside the Europa League, Champions League and FA Cup – it is not a bad trophy cabinet.
Known as the engine, he revitalised the defensive midfielder role within the English top flight. His energy to fight and win the ball back constantly for his team is what makes him one of the most likeable players in football.
But things have changed under Graham Potter at Chelsea. He came into the club and is not the type of sentimental manager that will award starts to players based on merit. Granted he has not been helped by injuries and his recent surgery, but N’Golo Kante has only had two Premier League starts this season, with his surgery forcing him to miss France reaching the World Cup final.
The main talking point surrounding the midfielder is his contract. Only being tied down until this summer, it looks likely he will leave. According to Sport, N’Golo Kante is pushing for a move to Barcelona and is currently in advanced talks to sign a pre-contract agreement when his Chelsea deal runs out.
This is bad, bad news for Chelsea. Losing one of your star players is never good but when it’s in this fashion, it’s even worse – having joined Stamford Bridge for around £30m, they will now lose the France midfielder without a penny back in their pocket. For a club that is renowned for being lucrative in the transfer market, this is not good.
Of course, Chelsea will actively be looking for players to sign in the January transfer window. The main priority should be their attack as this position has been poor, frankly. However, their secondary favoured position to strengthen will now be their midfield, with plenty of talented options out there.
Who would you like to see Chelsea sign to replace N’Golo Kante?