Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has suggested to BBC Sport that the Blues will not sell N’Golo Kante amid speculation that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal want to sign him in the summer transfer window.
Earlier this month, The Daily Star reported that Arsenal are interested in signing Kante from London and Premier League rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window.
Arsenal are reportedly planning a move for the France international midfielder.
Kante could not travel with Chelsea to the USA for their pre-season tour because he is not fully vaccinated, but Tuchel has said that the 31-year-old midfielder remans a key figure in the team.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel on Arsenal target N’Golo Kante
Tuchel told BBC Sport about Kante: ”N’Golo knows what pre-season is all about and for him especially it gives us the possibility to build him up very individually.
”He has coaches there in London who take care of him and he is integrated in the Under-23 and Under-19 training so he also has team training.
“We need N’Golo to have more minutes on the pitch. He is one of our key figures and the key players need to be on the pitch otherwise they cannot be key players, so this is how we are handling things at the moment.”
Could a transfer happen?
In our view, N’Golo Kante could join Arsenal from Chelsea in the summer transfer window.
The Frenchman has one year left on his contract, and given his injury problems in recent times, Chelsea could be tempted into selling him if they get a good offer this summer.
Moreover, Kante earns £290,000 per week as salary (SalarySport).
Then there was the report in Estadio Deportivo last week that Chelsea have identified Real Betis and Argentina international defensive midfielder Guido Rodriguez as a potential replacement for Kante.
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