Arsene Wenger has told Ian Wright for SPORTbible that he regrets turning down a chance to sign N’Golo Kante for Arsenal while the Chelsea midfielder was an unknown in France.
The Gunners’ iconic manager claims a president of French minnows Suresnes once called to plead with him to sign Kante. The midfielder spent 11-years at the club in a suburb of Paris before joining Boulogne in 2010 as no one else wanted him.
Kante made his senior breakthrough at Boulogne before moves to Caen and Leicester City followed. Going on to win the Premier League with the Foxes in his debut term in 2015/16.
His stunning season at the King Power Stadium led to a £30m move to Chelsea. Yet Arsenal also explored a transfer, but The Athletic note the fee Kante’s agents wanted killed a deal.
Wenger now considers turning down Suresnes’ offer to sign Kante the biggest regret of his final years as Arsenal manager. As the 30-year-old enforcer is a “very” underrated player.
“At the end of my career, N’Golo Kante. [I could have signed him] easy,” Wenger said. “He played in a club in Paris called Suresnes where one of my best friends is director and he told me: ‘Please, I have a player who’s unbelievable. Nobody wants him in France’.
“He took him in his car and travelled from club to club. And finally, a club of division three in France took Kante. It is an unbelievable story of Kante, you could make a film.
“He is something that you don’t find often. He wins the ball without making any foul and straight away moves that ball forward.”
Wenger missed two golden chances to seal Arsenal transfer for Kante
Wenger spurned two golden chances to seal an Arsenal move for Kante, then, after backing out in 2016. The Gunners refused to pay his agents Gregory Dakad £6.4m and Abdelkarim Douis £4.2m on top of Leicester’s £30m.
Kante has since lifted another Premier League title, with Chelsea winning the division in his first season at Stamford Bridge. They also won the Champions League last term, while he helped France win the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
His role in Chelsea’s most recent league title also saw Kante beat Kylian Mbappe to France Football’s French Player of the Year award in 2017. All the while Wenger paid £35m to sign Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2016 to strengthen his Arsenal core.
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