Chelsea’s star summer signing N’golo Kante has revealed that Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho called him in an attempt to convince him to move to Old Trafford this summer.
The 25-year-old French midfielder joined the Blues from reigning champions Leicester City for a reported fee of £30 million. He was one of the star performers for the Foxes in their incredible Premier League winning season, making the most tackles and interceptions in the division.
Chelsea have notched up three straight wins in the new season and Kante has continued in the same vein of form. He played all 90 minutes in each of their victories. The Frenchman has now revealed he turned down the advances of Man United manager Jose Mourinho in favour of heading to Stamford Bridge.
“It was amazing to have Mourinho call me, even though I’d been warned before how he would appeal to me,” Kante said, according to Sky Sports. “I listened to his arguments about why I should move to United.
“But at that time I was hesitant between staying at Leicester or leaving for Chelsea. My discussions with them were already well underway. But when I spoke, I had a good feeling with Conte.”
Kante would possibly have been a good addition to the Manchester United squad, but Mourinho is probably not very disheartened at not being able to sign him. After the Frenchman joined Chelsea, Man United went on to make his compatriot Paul Pogba the world’s most expensive transfer.
Man United now have a packed midfield, with the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Carrick all competing for a place alongside Pogba.
Chelsea also have a number of options in central midfield, but Kante and Nemanja Matic are head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in the pecking order. John Obi-Mikel is not getting any younger, Cesc Fabregas isn’t rated too highly by manager Antonio Conte and Ruben Loftus-Cheek is yet to break into the starting XI.
The move to Stamford Bridge looks to have worked out well for N’golo Kante, while Man United will also be more than happy with their summer acquisitions. It appears to be a satisfying outcome for all parties involved.
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