Chelsea star N’Golo Kante is reportedly close to signing a contract to join Al Ittihad.
According to a report by Tru News Report, a group from the Saudi Arabian club visited London on Tuesday night to discuss the terms of the contract, which is reportedly worth £86 million yearly.
The 32-year-old has been given a contract through 2025 but will become a free agent at the end of this month. The negotiations for Kante’s new contract with Chelsea came to an end in March. Chelsea wants a younger roster and is in talks with Brighton about acquiring Moises Caicedo, who is valued at £80 million.
The Saudi Arabian League is starting a significant hiring drive in Europe. They have made proposals for players like Lionel Messi, Serge Busquets, Paul Pogba, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, and Hugo Lloris of Tottenham as well as Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema.
The millions on offer over the summer are predicted to lure many more people. As previously reported by Mail Sport, negotiations between Al-Ittihad and Kante’s team have been ongoing for a number of days with the goal of quickly reaching a settlement.
Kante initially signed with the Blues in 2016, and since then, he has won back-to-back Premier League championships with two separate clubs, having done so with Leicester in 2015–16.
Despite his prominence in the game, it has been uncertain whether Mauricio Pochettino will include him in his plans for the upcoming campaign. Since Todd Boehly took over last summer, the club has spent a lot of money on transfers—nearly £600 million—and as a result, its roster has grown by about 30 players.
As a result, a number of current talents, such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Cesar Azpilicueta, are expected to depart.
If Kante were to go, the Blues would have few players who could play in a deeper midfield position, and Kovacic has been linked with a move to treble-chasing Manchester City.
