Chelsea are reportedly considering a shock move to offload midfield mainstay N’Golo Kante in the summer transfer window next year.
In a bit of a shock report from Fichajes, it is being claimed that Chelsea would consider the possibility of selling key midfielder N’Golo Kante in the summer of 2022.
Kante arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2016 after having helped Leicester City to a surprise Premier League title triumph. The Frenchman went on to play a key role as the Blues won the league title in his debut season which was followed by the FA Cup in the next campaign.
After having helped France win the FIFA World Cup in 2018, Kante went on to lift the UEFA Europa League trophy in 2019 before getting his hands on the UEFA Champions League last season. The 30-year-old was extremely influential in each of the titles and trophies, especially the latter one, as he won the Man of the Match awards in the semi-finals and the finals.
However, despite his importance to the side, Kante has had to deal with a few fitness issues of late, with the midfielder having missed some games for Chelsea last season as well as in the new campaign. And, with his contract set to expire at the end of the 2022/23 season, Chelsea are now mulling over the possibility of selling him next summer, when he enters the final year of his contract.
Kante will be 31 years old when the current season ends and given his recent fitness issues, one can understand Chelsea’s thought-process as next summer would provide them with a chance to recoup some transfer fee for the midfielder.
Furthermore, the report adds that there is a lot of excitement within the club surrounding the development of the likes of Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher, both of whom are excelling away on loan at Norwich City and Crystal Palace, respectively. Their growth is said to be another reason why Chelsea would consider parting ways with one of their most important players in recent history.
Kante has attracted strong interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the past. And should he be made available, there is unlikely to be any shortage of suitors for his services. Chelsea, for their part, may already have identified a long-term replacement in the form of Aurelien Tchouameni, with the AS Monaco starlet emerging as a transfer target for the Londoners.
Nonetheless, parting ways with a player as valuable as Kante could be a risky move for Thomas Tuchel & co. What now remains to be seen is if Chelsea do actually go ahead and decide to offload the diminutive Frenchman or hand him a new contract and extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.
