According to Pete O’Rourke, Liverpool are among the clubs interested in N’Golo Kante as his contract situation at Chelsea remains unresolved.
The Reds have a number of issues in their midfield right now, and going out and signing one of the Premier League’s all-time great central players seems like a smart solution.
However, at the age of 31, Kante wouldn’t be a long-term solution to Liverpool’s midfield problems. Or would he?
Of course, as we all know, Kante is one of the fittest players in the history of this league, and according to Jurgen Klopp back in 2019, the midfielder could still be playing at the top level in 20 years’ time.
Klopp loves Kante
Klopp spoke about Chelsea under Frank Lampard back in a press conference in 2019.
“It’s a really exciting team, it reminds me a little bit of my team at Borussia Dortmund a few years back when they were really young, even younger than this team now at Chelsea,” Klopp said.
“And people always talked about how young they were, but they only played because they were that good, not because they were that young.
“Jorginho not that young, but not been that long in the league. You have Kante who looks like he could play for the next 20 years. Maybe he’s only 18 physically, it’s unbelievable.”
Serviceable
Of course, Klopp was being hyperbolic when he said Kante has 20 more years ahead of him, but, in reality, he could be a serviceable midfielder for the next five years or so.
James Milner was still a key player for Liverpool well into his mid-30s, and with Klopp’s coaching, Kante could perform a similar role, albeit to a higher standard.
Yes, he’s older than Liverpool would probably like, but 31 isn’t that old these days – just look at the recent Ballon d’Or winners, most of them were in their mid-30s when they won the award.
Kante may not have 20 years ahead of him as Klopp once said, but he does have time to make an impact at Liverpool.
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