According to French newspaper Le Parisien, Chelsea have agreed a £29m deal with Leicester for defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante, which is much higher than the originally reported £20m release clause. Kante was offered a new contract by the Foxes, with a £100k weekly salary, but the new contract offer was probably there just to draw a higher transfer fee. Kante signed a five-year deal with Chelsea.
The 25-year-old France midfielder was one of the main stars for the Foxes as they shockingly won the Premier League last season, and it’s quite possible Kante was the main engine behind a stellar season for the Foxes.
His good performances didn’t go unnoticed despite Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy being at the spotlight with all the scoring and assisting, and Kante has soon been noticed as a key midfield player.
Kante also played for Les Bleus, France, on the Euro 2016. According to Didier Deschamps, the modest man made the holding role look easy and is a key performer in the national side.
The defensive midfielder became Antonio Conte’s second signing in Chelsea, after the arrival of Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi for £33m.
Chelsea have been without a proper defensive midfielder for a long time and are counting on Kante to stabilize the midfield and give the team a backbone as Conte and Chelsea want to have a much better season than 2015-16 when the Blues finished 10th with 53 goals conceded.
As he’s shaping the Chelsea team to suit his managerial style, Antonio Conte will probably want Kante to assume the same dominant role in midfield as Paul Pogba had in Juventus. And few could play the role better than Kante. Also, a quiet modest character could be exactly what Chelsea need as they try to steer away from the influence of certain high-profile players who think they’re bigger than the club.
