Graham Potter has chosen to take N'Golo Kante with him in a 25-man squad to Abu Dhabi despite the 31-year-old remaining sidelined due to injury. The Frenchman hasn't played a minute since hobbling off with a hamstring issue against Tottenham in the second match of the season.
He is also approaching the final six months of his contract and can negotiate a move away from the Premier League for free on January 1. Knowing this, and that no progress has been made with extending Kante's current deal, Potter still took the World Cup winner with him for warm weather training.
His predicament is one that is confounded by Jorginho's identical contract situation, and Potter faces the prospect of losing his two most senior players in the centre of the park for free at the same time. Although Chelsea have been aware of this issue for a while, it's daunting for Potter as he looks to rebuild the squad and leave his own stamp on it.
