Chelsea

Chelsea: N’Golo Kante expected to leave on a free

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Image for Chelsea: N’Golo Kante expected to leave on a free

N’Golo Kante is expected to leave Chelsea on a free transfer in the summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Kante will see his £290k-per-week contract expire in the summer with the Blues yet to extend the Frenchman’s current deal he penned back in 2018.

The 31-year-old hasn’t featured since August due to injury meaning he’s yet to play under new boss Graham Potter, opening the door for the midfielder to leave Stamford Bridge.

Foot Mercato previously reported that he’d prefer to stay in London where he will have been for seven years come the end of the season, suggesting that Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur could be possible destinations.

With all the uncertainty surrounding Kante’s future, Romano revealed on his YouTube channel that the World Cup winner’s Chelsea career is seemingly coming to a close.

“Kante would love to stay at the club but the reality is that at the moment there is still no agreement between the two parties, and this is why the expectation of those close to the player side and club side is for N’Golo Kante to leave on a free.

“Big opportunity for many clubs, let’s see if he will decide to stay in the Premier League or try a different kind of experience, we heard rumours about Barcelona because Barca are always monitoring the free agents’ market and so N’Golo Kante would be a big, big opportunity,” Romano said.

TIF Thoughts on Romano’s comments…

It does seem almost inevitable that we’re entering the final six months of Kante’s time in west London where he’s made 262 appearances and won six trophies for Chelsea, he may have limited chances to add to those before clubs begin to circle.

He’s featured only twice all season following a hamstring injury that he suffered against Tottenham in the second game of the campaign, this means he hasn’t played a minute under Potter who would’ve also seen very little of the Frenchman in training leaving him no time to impress.

Romano stated Barcelona’s interest which could add Kante in the same circumstances they signed Andreas Christensen last summer, with free agents becoming appealing signings due to their financial difficulties.

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