Chelsea star N’Golo Kante joins Al-Ittihad in the 2023 summer transfer window. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
As per the tweet from Fabrizio Romano, the situation around the future of N’Golo Kante at Chelsea is ’50/50′ at the moment after slow negotiations on a contract extension.
The latest is that the Frenchman and the club are on different terms during their discussion of the new deal. His current contract at Stamford Bridge expires in the coming summer (Transfermarkt).
Kante is open to discussing the salary as he loves the club and hopes to stay here beyond the current season. Whether the club obliges on his terms, remains to be seen.
In the last few weeks, the 31-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona in the summer, with a pre-contract agreement signed this month. If he does not sign a new deal at Chelsea, foreign clubs can contact him from January onward and agree on a deal to make him join in the summer for free.
Kante has been one of the best midfielders Chelsea has ever seen. He played key roles in the Blues winning the Premier League in 2017 and the Champions League in 2021.
But, the last year or so has seen the 2018 World Cup winner struggle with availability due to various injury issues. If we look at the numbers, he missed 16 games last season due to injuries and has been injured from the second game week of this campaign till date (Transfermarkt).
So, if the club is looking at these numbers and hesitating in offering him a new deal on his terms, it is understandable. Why invest in a key asset that does not guarantee availability?
As much as Kante is a legend of the club and will always be remembered by the fans as one of the very best, it is probably the right time to part ways with him.
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