Chelsea dig deep to keep French master
N’Golo Kante is ready to hand Chelsea a significant boost by signing a new contract worth around £300,000 (about R5.3m) a week.
The France international has indicated to the club that he is happy with the offer on the table, which is thought to run for the next five years.
The contract is now in the hands of lawyers before being officially signed off and announced, but Chelsea are confident that formalities will be completed imminently.
Kante has been earning around £150,000 a week since joining from Leicester City for £30m in 2016, so his new deal will represent a major shift.
Paris St-Germain had shown an interest in signing the 27year-old during the summer, when the midfielder starred for France as they won the World Cup in Russia. But the player was only focused on returning to Chelsea and learning from Maurizio Sarri, the new head coach. Kante has been one of Chelsea’s best signings of recent seasons. He won back-to-back Premier League titles first with Leicester, under Claudio Ranieri, and then Chelsea, under Antonio Conte, and has proved a model professional during his three years in England. He had joined Leicester from Caen for a reported £5.6m fee. Sarri has switched Kante’s position from a central holding midfielder to a more dynamic role on the right of a midfield three, but Chelsea remain delighted with his performances and attitude.
This could be Kante’s final big contract with Chelsea, as the new deal will take him to the age of 32 and the club have a policy of only renewing contracts for their over-30s by 12 months. –