Noel Whelan has urged Manchester United to look away from a possible transfer for N’Golo Kante, insisting the club should look for a younger alternative.
Manchester United are looking forward to an important summer window under a new manager. They have been miserable all season, considering that they were touted as possible title challengers early on.
New manager Erik ten Hag will be looking to bring in players of his choice to improve the squad. The central midfield is considered the most important area where they need strengthening. The Dutchman is already making plans and reportedly has players he wishes to target.
One of them is N’Golo Kante, who remains at Chelsea and will enter the final year of his deal. The 31-year-old has had an indifferent season riddled with injuries, making only 19 starts in the Premier League. His form has visibly dipped in the last few months, while his future at Stamford Bridge remains in doubt.
There are other targets like Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who doesn’t seem to interest Ten Hag. The manager may be thinking about bringing in an experienced player to shore up things in the short term, and then build from there.
However, Noel Whelan believes the idea of a ‘quick fix’ would be a terrible one, and has urged Manchester United not to pursue a move for Kante. He told Football Insider that bringing in a player with a young age profile as Aurelien Tchouameni could be the right way to go about things.
Whelan said, “I’d like to see Man United looking to bring in much younger players. I don’t see the point of getting players in who are 31 or 32. They need freshening up all over the park, and to do that, they need to get young talent through the door.
“Don’t get me wrong, N’Golo Kante is an exceptional player. He can still be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League on his day. But what is the point of signing players for two years? It’ll take a transfer fee – and they won’t get anything back for him in a couple of years. The fans will like to think Ten Hag is looking to build something for the future rather than just looking for a quick fix.”
While the advice is sensible from the modern perspective on transfers, Kante still has the qualities to improve any top team. He may still be a short-term fix, which may come as a gamble for Manchester United if they pursue a move.
