Chelsea are looking to sell French midfielder N’Golo Kante for the right price this summer.
Real Madrid and PSG are interested in acquiring the World Cup winner and are currently lining up bids. Lyon is also interested in a deal for the 29-year-old.
Kante’s contract expires in 2023 with the player not expected to renew his deal.
Is N’Golo Kante on the decline?
Kante has played a vital role as part of Chelsea’s midfield since his £32 million move from Leicester City in 2016.
The 2016/17 Premier League Player of the Season helped the Blues win the Premier League in his first year with the club. In doing so, he also became the first player since Eric Cantona in 1993 to win back-to-back league titles in England with separate clubs.
Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte still raves about the midfielder whom he coached during the victorious 2016/17 Premier League season.
“He can play in every position in midfield, one of the best players I had in my career as a coach,” said Conte on working with N’Golo.
The Blues current manager Frank Lampard also shares high praise for the little anchorman despite the Frenchman’s absence. Konte’s appeared in just half of the club’s 26 matches coping with a string of injuries.
“We obviously need N’Golo Kante back in our team, one of the best players in the world,” said Lampard.
“I knew that before I became manager of Chelsea and know that now from working with him.
“I haven’t been able to have him much this year and going forward we, of course, want him fit and raring to go.”
Kante may still, however, be just as ill-suited for Frank Lampard’s side as he was for Sarri — both coaches play more of a possession-based game rather than the counter-attacking styles of Leicester and Conte’s Chelsea.
A natural defensive midfielder and former garbage collector, Kante’s career blossomed quickly as he went from playing in the third division of France in 2013 to winning the Premier League twice and a World Cup by 2018.
In addition to helping Chelsea secure it’s fifth Premier League title, Konte has also helped the Blues to an FA Cup trophy and Europa League silverware.
While Kante may appear to be on the decline, age-wise at least — he turns 30 next year — an in-form Kante deserves to start in any midfield.
The industrious 5 foot 6 speedster is virtually everywhere on the pitch, a true box to box midfielder who combined with his sharp passing ability makes him world-class.
It’s no wonder that Zidane would be pounce at the opportunity to snatch a holding midfielder like N’Golo Kante who can make an immediate impact.
Whatever happens, Kante is staying focused on finishing out his career at Stamford Bridge.
“My motivation is still the same as it was on the very first day I came to Chelsea: to win titles and to do the best I can for the team, always. It is not my motivation to say I can be this or that.
“Success in football is something collective and this is always the most important thing to remember. To do your best for your team and to win title with your team-mates is the best feeling you can have in football.’
Should Kante head for the exit, Chelsea foresee 21-year-old West Ham starlet Declan Rice as Kante’s successor. Rice left Chelsea to play for West Ham when he was a teenager.
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