Arsenal & Chelsea Eye Bargain £20m Swoop For Premier League Star

The opening of the summer transfer window is fast approaching so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, top clubs are alerted to N’Golo Kante’s release clause…

Arsenal and Chelsea are among the clubs eyeing a bargain move for N’Golo Kante after learning the midfielder has a £20m buy-out clause in his Leicester City contract, according to the Daily Mail.

Kante has been a revelation since joining Leicester in a £5.6m deal from Caen last summer with the 25-year-old a major driving force behind the Foxes sensational march towards the Premier League title.

The French international’s tireless displays in the middle of the park have seen him named on the six-man PFA Player of the Year shortlist and understandably he’s attracting interest from some of Europe’s most powerful clubs.

The Daily Mail claim that the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea are showing a keen interest in signing Kante this summer while Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain are also understood to be keeping tabs on the midfielder.

The interested clubs have now been given a major boost as the newspaper suggests that Kante is available for just £20m due to a buy-out clause that was inserted in to his deal when he joined Leicester last summer.

Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri is obviously desperate to keep hold of Kante and is hoping that with Champions League football secured for next season and Leicester set to win the title, the midfielder can be persuaded to remain at the King Power for at least another season.

However, the Italian coach has already acknowledged that it may prove difficult for Leicester to keep hold of their top talent this summer after suggeting they would cash-in on Kante if a big offer came in.

When asked about the chances of selling Kante, Ranieri is quoted as saying by the Mail:

‘I think he [Kante] should rest [stay] here, he’s working very well,’

‘But if big teams arrive that will give us a lot of money, maybe we can think about it, if he’s not happy here and wants to go. ‘I don’t want sad people here – I want my players to be happy.’

Kante himself has done little to play down the idea of him leaving Leicester this summer with the midfielder welcoming interest from other clubs and suggesting he will consider his future at the end of the season.

He’s quoted as saying by the Daily Mail:

‘I will fight for Leicester this season and next season we never know and we will see,’ he said.

‘At this moment I am focused on Leicester. We have to finish well this season but I don’t mind about [being linked to] the other clubs.’

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but if the Mail’s claim that Kante has a £20m buyout clause is accurate, then it would be something of a bargain if the likes of Arsenal or Chelsea were able to prise him away from the King Power.

The Frenchman has been the Premier League’s top tackling midfielder this season and I think both Arsenal and Chelsea could certainly make do with a player of his quality in the middle of the park next season.

However, the London duo may want to act fast as interest in Kante’s signature is only going to increase further if he impresses at this summers European Championships, as he’s almost certainly going to be included in Didier Deschamps French squad.