Chelsea have reportedly offered midfield mainstay N’Golo Kante a bumper new contract, amid strong interest from French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea have offered France’s World Cup winning midfielder N’Golo Kante a staggering new five-year contract worth £290,000-a-week, which would see him surpass Eden Hazard as the club’s top earner, as per reports from The Times.
Having joined the Blues in the summer of 2016 following his Premier League triumph with Leicester City in a £30 million deal, the diminutive midfielder has established himself as the most important player at the club, along with Hazard.
The 27-year old has gone on to make 89 appearances for the West London outfit, lifting the league title in his first season and followed it up with a FA Cup trophy in the previous campaign. Kante, then, went on to play a pivotal part in leading France to their second World Cup triumph this summer in Russia.
His exploits for club and country have seem to have piqued the interest of PSG. The reigning Ligue 1 champions are in the market for a new midfielder following the retirement of Thiago Motta and the uncertainty surrounding the future of Adrien Rabiot. And new manager Thomas Tuchel is understood to keen on taking Kante to the Parc des Princes this summer.
Along with PSG, there have been murmurs of interest from reigning European champions Real Madrid, while their arch rivals Barcelona too have been touted as potential suitors. Of late, Serie A champions Juventus have also emerged as an interested party.
Amid so many speculations surrounding the 27-year old, Chelsea are keen on securing his long-term future at the club and have taken steps in that direction by offering a bumper new contract. New manager Maurizio Sarri sees the 31-time capped French international as a key cog in his side heading into the 2018-19 campaign.
Kante, who still has three years left on his existing deal with the Londoners, is believed to be earning £120,000-per-week in wages at the moment. Should he sign the new contract, he will eclipse Hazard, who is on £220,000-a-week, as the club’s highest earner.
Chelsea are also hoping that this move sends out a strong statement of intent to Hazard, who has been subject of strong interest from Real Madrid this summer. The Blues are intent on holding on to the Belgian winger at all costs and believe that securing the future of a quality player like Kante will act as a proof of the club’s lofty ambitions to Hazard.
Things have been pretty silent on the transfers’ front at the Stamford Bridge this summer, with Chelsea having managed to just sign Jorginho and veteran keeper Robert Green so far. They continue to be linked with a move for Juventus defender Daniele Rugani and are interested in signing Everton goalie Jordan Pickford as well, but no move has materialized yet. However, getting Kante to sign a new long-term contract will come as a huge boost for the club.
