Two Saudi clubs compete for Kante

The Saudi delegation arrived in London on June 6 to present its plan to recruit Kante, according to transfer intelligence expert Fabrizio Romano. Accordingly, there are two clubs competing for the signature of the French player.

The defending champion Saudi Pro League Al Ittihad, the team that just recruited Karim Benzema, is the most potential destination for Kante. Then came Al Nassr, the club that owns Cristiano Ronaldo. If he agrees to play in the Saudi Pro League, Kante can be paid up to 107 million USD, including salary, image rights and some commercial deals.

On May 11, Kante hinted that he would sign a new contract with Chelsea. This is the priority of the 32-year-old midfielder because he still loves the Stamford Bridge team and likes to live in London.

In March, Chelsea planned to send Kante a new two-year contract with the option to extend for a further year. However, the French midfielder then suffered an injury, making the London team hesitate.

After a disappointing season, ranked only 12th in the Premier League, Chelsea are determined to change this summer. They appointed former coach Mauricio Pochettino. The first challenge for the Argentinian military leader is to restructure the squad, which has swelled under his predecessor, Graham Potter.

According to the Daily Mail, Pochettino can liquidate 15 players, including Kante. The rest are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount.

Kante joined Chelsea in 2016, right after winning the Premier League with Leicester. At Stamford Bridge, he won the 2016-2017 English Premier League, 2017-2018 FA Cup, 2020-2021 Champions League, 2018-2019 Europa League, 2021 European Super Cup and 2021 FIFA Club World Cup.