France International N’Golo Kante is on the verge of penning a deal to join Saudi Arabian giants Al Ittihad.
The Frenchman leaves Chelsea at the end of June 2023 and he will be a free agent when his contract expires.
Al Ittihad have reportedly offered Kante a contract worth €100 million salary every season until 2025.
N’Golo Kante’s deal is understood to include commercial deals, image rights and “creative” portfolio.
A delegation from the Middle East club was in London on Tuesday evening to examine extensively the details of the contract.
The 32-year-old had been in conversation with Chelsea over a new deal but negotiations appear to have resulted in a deadlock.
Is Kante in the plans of Mauricio Pochettino?
The Blues are said to be on a rebuilding process and as such Mauricio Pochettino wants to make use of a young team.
N’Golo Kante is set to sign a deal with Al Ittihad and he becomes the latest high profile player to be headed for the middle east.
Chelsea have apparently contacted Brighton and Hove Albion concerning a deal for highly rated midfielder Moises Caicedo.
On Tuesday evening, the Jeddah based club confirmed and announced the acquisition of Karim Benzema who penned a deal estimated to be about €200 million.
The Saudi Pro League which has been predicted to be amongst the top 5 leagues in football in the coming years by Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be on a raid for the biggest stars in Europe.
Their first acquisition which attracted the headlines was the signing of football great Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo penned a deal worth £175 million a year until 2025 with Al Nassr and game after game, media attention has also turned to the Pro League.
This has provided more visibility to the league and additional signings like Kante, Ronaldo and Benzema provides improved competition to the league.
Meanwhile, discussions between representatives of Al Ittihad and N’Golo Kante began days ago and the target is for a deal to be struck quickly.
The Frenchman joined Chelsea in 2016, lifting back-to-back Premier League titles with two separate teams.
He won the 2015/16 title with Leicester City under Claudio Ranieri before winning the 2016/17 title under Antonio Conte.
N’Golo Kante was a key figure in both triumphs
Kante was instrumental in both triumphs but he is obviously not getting any younger.
In spite of how key a figure he is in the Blues set up, it is uncertain if he will be a component in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans for next season.
The West London side invested massively in the previous summer and winter transfer windows, spending close to £600 million since Todd Boehly acquired the club.
Chelsea now have a bloated squad with about 30 players and this can provide a selection headache to any manager.
The Blues are looking to offload many players this summer with the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Cesar Azpilicueta set to exit the club.
If N’Golo Kante leaves Stamford Bridge, it would result in a shortage of players who have the ability to play in a deeper midfield role.
The former Leicester City midfielder has scored 24 goals and provided 29 assists in 431 games so far in his career.
