N’Golo Kante appears to be closer than ever to leaving Chelsea as his contract enters its last 6 months.
Fabrizio Romano this morning revealed that there are “huge chances” that the midfielder leaves on a free this summer, with “no deal in place yet.”
Kante is apparently keen to stay, but Chelsea are already looking at younger replacements.
Chelsea have still no agreement with N’Golo Kanté on new contract — huge chances for French midfielders to leave as free agent in 2023. 🚨🔵 #CFC
Kanté would love to stay, but no deal in place yet — Chelsea are already looking at young midfielders.
More: https://t.co/lLFuVeSwds pic.twitter.com/n33g8AvR0h
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 3, 2022
Romano’s angle is that Chelsea have already decided on freshening up the whole squad, and are willing to let Kante go rather than pay to keep a player who is struggling with injury and is well into his 30s.
We all know what a player Kante can still be on his day, and losing another top player for free will be painful. But equally, we understand what the new owners are trying to build.
Of course if Kante truly is keen to stay, a mutually agreeable wage could likely be found in any case.