France midfielder N’Golo Kante has hinted at an extension of his contract with Chelsea in his most recent comments.
Kante and Chelsea will be free to do as they both please in June 2023 after seven seasons of success together. The 32-year-old midfielder is still considered an important asset by the Blues but until recently, it was assumed that he was done with them and will be moving on in the summer.
Barcelona and Arsenal were also on his tail and reports indicated that both clubs had made contact with the former Leicester City man as regards a summer move. There were also reports of him being partial to a Barcelona move.
Chelsea were believed to be out of the question but it seems now like they could be getting more years of Kante as they look to rebuild from the disaster that has been the 2022/23 season. They have prepared a contract for him that will keep him at the club until 2025 and his recent comments indicate that he is closer than ever to signing it.
Asked about the possibility of remaining at the West London club, he said: “For sure. It’s an exciting project for the club.
“Unfortunately this season hasn’t been to Chelsea’s standards. But everyone wants to go in this way, the way of success and winning titles.
“I hope this club will again fight in this direction. Let’s see where I will be but I hope that this is a change for the club, that is most important.”
Kante has been unable to contribute to Chelsea’s season as much as he can thanks to recurring injuries that kept him out for up to five months in the season. He has been fit for close to two months and Frank Lampard will count on him as they make a beeline for the top 10 in the last few games of the season.
The 44-year-old spoke highly of the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner when he returned to full fitness back in April. “Having worked with N’Golo before, he’s an incredible player. He’s one of the best I’ve been fortunate enough to work with.
“I know the positives of having him and the negatives of not because in my first season here we missed him for some big periods and when we had him, we felt the impact of him. As an individual, his impact is very clear.
“Off the back of a long-term injury, we have to manage him at the same time because when you have N’Golo fit, he’s clearly one of the best midfield players in the world. I think you can see with these performances against Madrid and Liverpool last week, having just come back from injury, that he is not slowing down in that term.”
