There’s a new twist to Chelsea’s pursuit of Leicester City midfielder N’Golo Kante, as Nemanja Matic’s future plans have been put on hold until the Blues have confirmed the signing of the Frenchman.
New Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has made 25-year-old defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante his top transfer target this summer. He had his break-out season in 2015-16 as he played the part of midfield engine room in Leicester City’s unprecedented Premier League triumph. Along the way Kante made the most number of tackles (175) and interceptions (156) in all of Europe’s top five leagues.
The Blues have now made Kante the focus of all their transfer related activities, and have even put all discussions on the future of their Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic on hold until they get the Frenchman to sign for them.
Italian champions Juventus are very interested in the 28 year old central midfielder, but have been told that the Blues will not be listening to any offers until they have signed Kante. Matic had also been linked to a re-union with former manager Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, but that move seems to be off as United have turned their attentions elsewhere.
Leicester are desperately trying to keep hold of Kante. They have even offered him a new contract with a substantial increase in his weekly wages. The Frenchman signed for the Foxes last summer for £5.6 million from Ligue 1 club Caen, and still has three years to go on his current deal.
The Blues’ first bid of £20 million was rejected by Leicester, even though it would represent a profit of more than £14 million for them. The Foxes know that the midfielder is worth much more than that, but will only start the negotiating process if they can’t convince him to stay. In this regard Chelsea have made a new £27 million offer, with £3 million in bonuses. It remains to be seen if the Foxes agree to this improved deal, although it is most likely they will hold out for a higher bid.
Kante is yet to commit his short-term future to the Foxes. This leaves the door open for Chelsea to try and coax Leicester into letting him go. The Blues are in desperate need of a big signing, after having failed in their pursuit of AS Roma’s Radja Nainggolan and also facing difficulties in trying to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
