French newspaper Le Parisien claims that the continental clamoring for N’Golo Kante has now extended to three clubs.
The first we already knew about. That would be PSG, who have gone as far to to send their director of football, Antero Henrique, to London to try to carve out a deal. Reports of their offer vary wildly but go as high as €80m. By all indications, Henrique went home empty-handed. Again.
If any Chelsea fans are worried by constant French reports of PSG trying to sign Kante, then a source close to him says there is virtually no chance of him leaving this summer. And he certainly isn’t pushing to
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) June 15, 2018
Now the two Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, are reportedly ready to make offers as well. Real Madrid want to make N’Golo their next Claude Makelele. Sport claim that Chelsea value Kante at €90m, which sounds low. Le Parisien claim that if he opts to leave the Blues, Madrid would win his favors.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have joined PSG in pursuit of N’Golo Kante. If he decides to leave #CFC, France midfielder favours move to Real Madrid (Le Parisien)
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) June 23, 2018
Also interested are Barcelona, who have an Iniesta-size hole in their midfield and apparently see the Frenchman as a replacement. Although Kante’s skills on the ball have improved dramatically under Antonio Conte, he would hardly be a like-for-like replacement for the gifted Barca legend, which makes this rumor a bit odd.
For his part, Kante has been the model of propriety. He has always insisted he’s happy at Chelsea and not once has there been a rumble of discontent. A cynic might note, however, that the last two times he’s addressed transfer rumors, he’s kept his language guardedly neutral.
“Today, I am at Chelsea, and today I am currently living and playing in the World Cup, that is what comes first. I am not paying attention to what is being said on the club side of things at the moment.”
-N’Golo Kante; source: Goal
That’s a statement which leaves itself open to interpretation.
But while nothing’s ever guaranteed in football, the reality of the situation is that Kante isn’t going anywhere. He’s under contract until 2021. By all indications he’s happy. He’s simply far too valuable and, even more so than Eden Hazard, impossible to replace. It would take an awful lot of money to pry him loose and it’s hard to imagine that even €90m would do the job in today’s bloated transfer market.