According to reports in Express, Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has been given a good reason he shouldn’t leave the club, simply because Maurizio Sarri will soon be sacked. That’s what ESPN FC pundit Alejandro Moreno is predicting. Reports have indicated that France international and World cup winner Kante is subject to interest from Italian Serie A giants Juventus and Spanish Laliga Real Madrid.
The two-time Premier League champion with both Leicester City and Chelsea, as he was also crowned PFA Player of the Year in 2017 has been the subject of widespread debate this season due to Sarri’s use of the player. Many feel that the 27-year-old is not being played in his best position, with Sarri opting to utilise Kante further forward with Jorginho his trusted defensive midfielder.
And Kante’s qualities are known across Europe having been a stellar performer in the Premier League since joining Leicester in 2015. A move to Chelsea followed after Leicester’s miraculous title-winning season and Kante has continued to excel as a tenacious ball winner in the middle of the park. Yet there are claims he could be tempted into a move elsewhere given Chelsea’s current struggles under Sarri.
While the Blues seemed to have arrested their slide under the Italian following their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, a meek loss to Everton in the Premier League last Sunday has reignited rumours Sarri will be sacked.
The former Napoli coach has been widely criticised for his stubborn tactics this season and Chelsea have lost seven matches in 2019 alone. They are facing a second successive season outside of the Champions League if they do not close the gap to the top four – which currently stands at three points with eight games left – or win the Europa League.
And Moreno thinks Kante should hang fire if he is thinking about pushing for an exit from Chelsea, because Sarri will lose his job in the near future. Moreno said on ESPN FC: “Kante may want to look elsewhere but if he’s a little patient, just a tiny bit patient, he may just realise that the person who has been playing him out of position this whole year – Maurizio Sarri – may not be around for too much longer.
“If Chelsea do not make it into the top four and if Chelsea do not win the Europa League, there is very little for Sarri to hang on to. “Therefore I expect Kante to go back to playing where he is the best in the world, defensive midfield, and staying at Chelsea. “I don’t think the guy who has made those changes is going to be there too much longer.”
Asked if Kante could turn down PSG if they were to make an approach, Moreno added: “Maybe not, but he’s under contract with Chelsea and he just signed a new deal: “As much as he may want to go, Chelsea may say, ‘You know that transfer ban, we cannot be losing players because we can’t go get players’.”
Despite the transfer rumours, Kante is under contract in west London until 2023 after penning a new £300,000-a-week deal last November.
D