N’Golo Kante has signed his €100m over 4 years contract at Al Itthad to become their player from the 1st of July, according to a Tweet from Fabrizio Romano..
Forget all the stuff about how great he is and how much we will miss him – let’s think what it means for the team and our summer planning.
N’Golo Kanté to Al Ittihad 🟡⚫️🇸🇦🇫🇷
◉ Four year contract signed.
◉ €100m total salary paid in four years.
◉ Image rights/commercial deals extra;
◉ Negotiations started on June 6 and deal now finally set to be announced.
End of an era for Chelsea legend. 🔵✨ pic.twitter.com/kS8taYnuO1
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 18, 2023
We were going to buy a central midfielder anyway – Moises Caicedo of Brighton is top of the list it seems – does the departure of Kante mean we will now sign two? Is Conor Gallagher more likely to stay? Is Andre Santos plus one new signing a solid midfield setup? Is Mateo Kovacic off too? Is Loftus-Cheek? Kante’s departure raises more questions than answers.
It clears a lot of wages off the bill and removes one unreliable injury presence, but you couldn’t say it improves the situation that Mauricio Pochettino walks into by any stretch of the imagination.
I wish him all the best, he’s ever going to be among the greatest to play for Chelsea. Also, I like the fa t he won’t be playing against us in the EPL or Europe. Best of luck Kante