Chelsea look set to receive a double N'Golo Kante boost as the Frenchman closes in on a return from injury and looks set to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge. After appearing in training this week, the Blues are now very confident Kante will sign a new contract with the club before his current deal expires in the summer, football.london understands.
Ahead of the 2022/23 season, there were concerns at Stamford Bridge that the Blues would be facing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen repeats with Jorginho and Kante. The midfield duo both saw their deals expire in the summer of 2023, but Chelsea look set to avoid suffering a similar outcome a year on.
Jorginho left the club to join Arsenal in the January transfer window for £10million, while progress is going in the right direction regarding an extension for Kante.
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Kante has not played since Potter was appointed towards the start of September after suffering an injury against Tottenham in mid-August. However, as football.london revealed recently, Kante has been doing some light training with the rest of the Chelsea squad at Cobham recently as he nears his return to first-team action.
A return to the matchday fold for Kante would be a massive boost for Chelsea and it could unleash Enzo Fernandez into a more attacking role. Since his record-breaking transfer from Benfica, he has been partnered with Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic, but he is yet to be deployed alongside a natural defensive midfielder with Denis Zakaria, like Kante, also out injured.
With Kante's capabilities to cover ground at a rapid rate, he is seen as the perfect partner for Fernandez to allow the World Cup winner to showcase his creativity which was briefly on display against West Ham.
While also specifically helping Fernandez, former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves believes that Kante's return will solve Chelsea's woes significantly.
“I think if Kante comes back [they will improve],” he told Premier League Productions (via Optus Sport). "Every team he plays, he makes it better, whether it’s Leicester [City], Chelsea, France.
“If they can find a way to get him back fit, that will make a huge difference. That covers up a lot of the issues [for Chelsea].”
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