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Leicester's N'Golo Kanté favours Chelsea over Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester United — report

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According to Matt Law of the Telegraph, Leicester City midfielder N'Golo Kanté will reject the new deal offered by the Premier League champions, and, with at least four teams vying for his signature, will favour a move to Chelsea.  While he would thus be giving up Champions League football (for at least a season), he apparently wants to work specifically with Antonio Conte.

Leicester offered Kanté wages of £100,000 per week to convince him to stay, but thanks to the £20m buyout clause, there's only so much they can do.  The only bit of control Leicester do have is that apparently they're only obliged to accept the highest bid over £20m. Therefore Chelsea (and others) are trying to avoid an auction for Kanté that could raise his transfer fee to excessive figures.

The other clubs supposedly interested are Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Juventus. The Old Lady are believed to be the strongest candidates alongside Chelsea but it is expected that the 25-year-old French international will choose staying in the Premier League over moving to the Serie A.

Having now seemingly given up on Radja Nainggolan, Chelsea could not have picked a better primary transfer target to reinforce the weak midfield.  Kanté would be a younger, cheaper, and perhaps even better option, and his all-action style would no doubt make him a fantastic fit for Conte.

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