ANOTHER Chelsea star in Saudi Pro League link as Kante signs €100m deal

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 21 Jun 2023 06:40 BST
• 3 min read

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that yet another Chelsea player could be heading to the Saudi Pro League this summer after N’Golo Kante completed his move to Al-Ittihad.

The Blues have seen many of their players linked with a move to the emerging league, with Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech both thought to be on the brink of joining clubs in the Gulf.

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Furthermore, others such as Romelu Lukaku and Edouard Mendy have been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, with Todd Boehly’s relationship with Saudi Arabia’s dealmakers providing Chelsea with an effective means of offloading their deadwood.

Kante is the first player to actually complete a move, with the France international midfielder joining Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad. His case was slightly different, though, in that he does not have a contract that requires bought out. He moves as a free agent.

The 32-year-old is set to earn a wage of €25 million per year for the next four years, with the Saudi Pro League side providing him with the multi-year deal that Chelsea refuses to give him. According to Romano, he will also have commercial deals and image rights on top of this, with his presentation to take place in July.

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Hudson-Odoi to the Saudi Pro League?

Romano has also revealed that yet another Chelsea player has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, with Callum Hudson-Odoi approached by two clubs from the division with regards a transfer.

It is not yet clear whether the academy product will accept a move and no talks have started on the player side of the deal.

The 22-year-old Hudson-Odoi, who has been capped three times by England and has an Estimated Transfer Value of €32m, has struggled to live up to his early promise at Chelsea, where he made his debut in 2017, and spent last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen.