N’Golo Kanté ‘on the market’ as Chelsea pursue Kai Havertz — report

Madrid-based media continue to push N’Golo Kanté towards Real Madrid, and while that doesn’t necessarily mean much, we’ve seen with Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois that sometimes all that smoke does actually indicate a fire.

This time AS are using Chelsea’s reported pursuit of Kai Havertz — in which we’re certainly not alone, if we’re in it at all — as the impetus for claims that Kanté is “on the market”. The Blues are “reviewing” the club’s wage structure and are thus “considering the departures of players like Kanté”.

How many players like Kanté do we have? Just one, by my count. At his peak, no one compares to him, which is also reflected in his club-record wages.

Will we ever see Kanté at his peak again? That’s the tricky and somewhat scary question. He will be 30 next year. Age is but a number, sure, but if we already think he’ll never be the same again after a year of injuries, now might be an opportune time to cash in indeed. Chelsea already have an overload of midfielders; adding another one would necessitate some departures.

If we look at this as more than just a business decision, then obviously we must keep Kanté. The media reports are nothing but speculation at the moment anyway.