Recent reports from The Mirror reveal that Manchester United are keen on signing Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante in the upcoming transfer window as Erik Ten Hag believes that the 31-year-old still has the ability, experience and hunger to be of service in the rebuild.
Aurelien Tchouameni, Frenkie de Jong, and Declan Rice are all on the Dutchman’s wish list, but N’Golo Kante seems to be the most attainable target as Thomas Tuchel is expected to make a host of changes after Todd Boehly’s £4.25 billion takeover. Furthermore, with a year left on the Frenchman’s contract, the club hasn’t been able to offer him a contract extension yet.
N’Golo Kante joined Chelsea from fellow Premier League club Leicester City in the summer of 2016 for a fee in the region of £32 million. Over the last seven years, he has featured 258 times for the Blues, winning the Premier League (2017), FA Cup (2018), Europa League (2018/19), Champions League (2020/21) and Super Cup (2021/22). Given his achievements at the top level, it would be an understatement to say that he has had quite a successful career as a midfielder at Stamford Bridge.
The 4th Official uses images provided by the following image agency:
Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.de/)
Imago Images (https://www.imago-images.de/)
Despite missing out on chunks of the season due to injuries, he has managed to put up some awe-inspiring numbers on the board this term – averaging 2.2 tackles, one interception, 0.5 shots, 0.9 key passes, 1.5 dribbles, and 1.3 long balls per 90 minutes in the English top-flight (calculated over 24 appearances).
A Gamble Worth Taking?
Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard are all likely to leave the club in the summer transfer window when their contracts expire. Besides, the Mc-Fred double pivot has let the team down on countless occasions. There are way too many holes that need to be filled to bring this dysfunctional side back on track.
Under such circumstances, Kante’s arrival at The Theatre of Dreams will undeniably strengthen Ten Hag’s midfield department, and he could potentially be one of the many pieces the Dutch tactician needs to stabilise United’s midfield proceedings.
At 31, the Paris-born midfielder is certainly past his prime, but given the pathetic state of United’s present midfield, this gamble might as well be worth taking.
(Stats from WhoScored)
