N’Golo Kante is ready to run from Leicester City to Chelsea with hopes of bringing the Blues back to the top.
The French midfielder will sign with Chelsea in the coming days in a £30 million ($40 million) transfer from Leicester City, The Telegraph’s Matt Law reported Friday. In doing so, Kante will take his talents from last season’s Premier League champion to the one that preceded it, and alter the balance of power in England’s top flight. Chelsea is expected to announce Kante’s signing soon, but Law suggests the transfer is a done deal.
Kante was Leicester City’s driving force in the midfield, impressing the soccer world with his awareness, energy and defensive skill. The 25-year-old was nothing short of a revelation in his one season with the Foxes, who signed him last summer from French club Caen for just £6.5 million.
Leicester City would have liked Kante to remain, but his contract contains a release clause, which Chelsea gleefully met.
Law reports that Kante will sign a five-year, £150,000-a-week (£7.8 million/$10.3 million) contract with Chelsea. Leicester City offered Kante a new, £100,000-a-week (£5.2 million/$6.9 million) contract, but the allure of West London apparently is too strong keep him with the Foxes.
Leicester City will make a £23.5 million profit on Kante, but money is unlikely to soften the blow of losing someone who won its Players’ Player of the Year Award and was a finalist for the 2016 PFA (England’s players’ union) Player of the Year Award.
Kante will become the second player to join Chelsea this summer following striker Michy Batshuayi’s arrival from French club Marseille. They join a new-look Chelsea team that embarks on its first season under manager Antonio Conte.
Thumbnail photo via LiverpoolFC.com
