- 7 hours ago
Revenge for Mudryk? Arsenal tried to steal Chelsea star for free
Tom Hancock
- Updated: 13 Apr 2023 17:27 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal enquired about the availability of Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante in January, it has emerged.
Kante, 32, is out of contract at Stamford Bridge this summer and has also been linked with Barcelona, Juventus and PSG, among others.
The French international – a World Cup winner with Les Bleus in 2018 – was a Premier League champion in consecutive seasons – with Leicester in 2016/17 then with Chelsea in 2017/18 – and lifted the Champions League in 2020/21.
Kante has endured an injury-frustrated 2022/23 campaign for Chelsea, where his future remains uncertain despite reports that the Blues have made positive progress with contract talks.
And it has now been revealed that the combative ball-winner was on the radar of both Arsenal and their North London rivals Tottenham, with a member of his entourage telling French newspaper Le Parisien earlier this week: “N’Golo would like to continue his career in London … He liked working with Antonio Conte, but he has been sacked by Tottenham.
“Arsenal also made an enquiry. I think he will extend his deal at Chelsea before going to the Middle East in two or three years.”
READ MORE: Chelsea still want Barcelona winger they missed out on last summer
Were Arsenal out for revenge?
In the end, Arsenal added to their midfield ranks in January by signing Kante’s teammate Jorginho for €11.3m (£9.9m) on deadline day.
That move came after Chelsea had beaten the Gunners to secure the services of Mykhailo Mudryk, who joined the Blues from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth an initial €70m.
As for Kante, he made his first start since August in Chelsea’s 0-0 Premier League draw with Liverpool earlier this month – Frank Lampard’s first game back in charge as caretaker manager.
