Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante could leave this summer on expiration of his contract. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
According to Daily Mail (h/t Metro), Barcelona are closing in on a pre-contract agreement deal in January to sign Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante.
Kante, who was not part of the French squad during the World Cup after picking up a long-term injury in August, has his contract at Stamford Bridge in the summer (Transfermarkt).
So, as per the rules, the midfielder is eligible to speak to foreign clubs from January 1 onward to agree on a pre-contract deal that would enable him to join the club in the summer. It seems like Barcelona are close to that agreement.
Kante arrived at Chelsea in 2016, as a defending Premier League champion from Leicester City. He won the league in his first season in west London, becoming the first player to win an English top-flight title in consecutive seasons with different clubs.
He has been an excellent team player since, helping Chelsea to win the Champions League in 2021, the Europa League in 2019 and more.
But, in the last 18 months, injuries have not helped the 31-year-old’s cause. He struggled for availability last season, and things have been the same this time around, if not worse.
If he joins Barcelona in the summer, he will leave Chelsea as a club legend without a shadow of a doubt. He will join Andreas Christensen and Marcos Alonso from the recent Blues squad to join the Catalan club.
On the other hand, it would be a tough gig for Chelsea to find a suitable replacement for Kante. He was so good and almost played like two players at times that getting a player of a similar profile would be a hard ask.
We have been linked with West Ham United star Declan Rice. The Englishman is someone who can play the role Kante used to do at Stamford Bridge. We need to make sure we sign the former Chelsea academy product before anyone else does.
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