Kante: I rejected Thomas Tuchel when he was at PSG

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

N’Golo Kante has revealed that there were indeed talks between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain about a potential transfer to the Ligue 1 side when current boss Thomas Tuchel was manager

In the summer of 2019, negotiations started between Chelsea and PSG, but were quickly halted when Kante made it clear that he had no intention of leaving Stamford Bridge.

The World Cup winner says he hasn’t talked to Tuchel about the fact he previously rejected him, though.

“I knew in the past there was some contact with Paris Saint-Germain when he was the manager, but it was not something I wanted,” Kante told the official Chelsea site.

“It did not happen because I was happy at Chelsea and I stayed here. I haven’t spoken to the manager about it!”

There has been suggestions that Kante’s style of play perhaps doesn’t match up with Tuchel’s philosophy, with the German putting a lot of stock in possession whereas Kante has made his name as a relentless presser, even from deep.

Though Tuchel preferred the pairing of Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho at the beginning of his tenure, Kante has started the last two games against Southampton and Manchester United.

Kante on Billy Gilmour

This week, FootballLondon revealed that Chelsea had decided to demote young midfielder Billy Gilmour back down to the under-23 squad in order for him to see more game time, after they refused to sanction a loan move in the January transfer window.

With no route into the first team at the moment, he has started to feature for the youth side again at Stamford Bridge.

Kante is sure that his young colleague will come good for the Blues, though.

“We have trained together a long time now and we speak,” the 29-year-old said.

“I know what he likes, he knows what I like. I share sometimes my experience of what has happened in my national team or in previous teams.

“He is a good player with a good mentality. He is always ready to step up and do well, even when we call on him in training. He has good potential for now and the future, and I’m sure he will do well for Chelsea and in his career.”

Kante has started 19 games in the Premier League this season for Chelsea.