Chelsea star N'Golo Kante is set to leave the club this summer on a free transfer upon the expiry of his contract, despite the best efforts of the Blues to keep him. The 32-year-old has spent seven years at Stamford Bridge, having joined from Leicester City in 2016.
The Frenchman has managed to win seven trophies in his time with Chelsea, including a Premier League and a Champions League medal. His importance to the side was clear, but so too was the increasing impact of his injuries and absences for the team over the past two seasons.
Kante managed just 520 minutes of Premier League action this campaign as a mixture of a hamstring injury and a groin problem left him out for months. The season prior he only managed 1,777 minutes, leading then manager Thomas Tuchel to question his availability with some lofty comparisons.
"I think he is our key, key, key player but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch and if he plays only 40% of the games, it is maybe a miracle that we arrive in third place. He is our Mo Salah, our [Virgil] van Dijk, our [Kevin] De Bruyne," the German coach said in May 2022.
"He is simply that player. He is our Neymar, our Kylian Mbappe, he is the guy who makes the difference and if you only have him 40%, it is a huge problem. It is maybe a miracle of how consistent we produce results and puts everything into perspective because I saw Liverpool last season without Van Dijk and they struggled heavily. You see the difference. N'Golo is our key player but he needs to be on the pitch."
His absence this season coincided with the Blues finishing 12th in the Premier League, and with his contract expiring efforts were made to extend his stay. However, that hope of an extra few years appear to have been dashed as Fabrizio Romano reports that Kante is now set to move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad on a free transfer.
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The documents are said to be prepared for his switch, with a value of €100million (£86million) per year until 2025 - culminating in a total value of £172million. That move comes just days after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia - the owners of Newcastle United - announced the acquisition of four of the country's top football clubs.
Plenty of stars look set to make the switch, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema already announced as stars for the league next season, though there has been questions over the move and its impact on football and the 'soft power' that comes with such ownership.
For Chelsea though, this looks set to be the end of a chapter for one of their much beloved players in Kante, who will be making an exit this summer.
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