Leicester City midfielder N’Golo Kante is on the verge of joining Chelsea on a 30 million pound deal.
After being part of the greatest story in the history of the Premier League, midfielder N’Golo Kante is on the verge of joining Chelsea for £29.2 million. According to The Guardian, Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri told Kante that the decision was up to him, and that he preferred a move to Chelsea.
Among the three players that were vital to Leicester City’s title last season — Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, and N’Golo Kante — the latter was always going to be the one most likely to leave. He had a release clause of £20 million which, for a player who’s that productive, is a bargain. But after Vardy rejected a bid to join Arsenal, Kante is the first player from Leicester to leave.
Kante proved to be one of the best hold-up midfielders in the Premier League last year. His defensive-minded play, and accurate passing was a big part of Leicester’s success. He followed that up with an equally impressive showing in the Euros. Even though fans will miss him, they’re set to make a big profit off of Kante, after they acquired him for just £5.5 million.
Even though Leicester will be playing in the Champions League and Chelsea won’t, perhaps Kante prefers Antonio Conte to Claudio Ranieri. For one, they practically have the same last name, and he’ll fit right into Chelsea’s new system, offering an immediate upgrade over John Obi Mikel.
Chelsea fans will be delighted over this deal, especially since shirts like this have already been made:
After signing Michy Batshuayi earlier, Conte indicated that he wants to sign up to two more players. Whoever those two players end up being, there’s no doubt that Chelsea are a better team now than they were last year. Even with the influx of new managers and talent coming to the Premier League, Chelsea should at very least get back to the top four next year.
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