Chelsea face losing £32m Premier League winner for free after SHOCK U-turn

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 31 May 2023 07:44 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea are threatened by losing N’Golo Kante on a free transfer once again this summer, with the France international having been close to a contract extension previously.

Kante is out of contract at the end of June and is eligible to join another club for nothing.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the 32-year-old, who is the club’s third captain behind Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva, was previously close to a new deal but the situation is now unclear.

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Chelsea are facing building competition for the former Leicester star, with the Italian reporting that Kante has piqued the interest of clubs from the Saudi Pro League, who are making an assault on several high-profile veteran players this summer, having already captured Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo in December.

Romano reports: “N’Golo Kante’s contract extension is not done yet. Talks were very advanced in the last months but now the situation is unclear again. More contacts will take place.

“All parties will talk in order to come to a decision. There are more clubs keen on Kante on a free transfer, including those from Saudi.”

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Why Kante remains important to Chelsea

Kante is coming off perhaps the worst season in his career. He has been dogged by injury and has featured on only nine occasions across all competitions, totalling just 685 minutes of competitive action.

However, the value of the experience of the midfielder and the professionalism he brings will be precious to new manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Reports have broken in recent days slamming the unprofessionalism of the Chelsea squad – with Mykhailo Mudryk posting a video of an elderly gentleman in a compromising position in the gym the most obvious example.

Kante is the type of player who can act as a counterweight to this and can be held up as an example to the young Chelsea squad of the type of dedication and focus required to reach the top.