Leicester Midfielder N’Golo Kante Signs Five-Year, £30M Deal With Chelsea

Leicester City midfielder N’Golo Kante and Chelsea have agreed on a five-year, £30 million ($39.5 million) contract.

Leicester Midfielder N’Golo Kante Signs Five-Year, £30M Deal With Chelsea

The 25-year-old Frenchman, who played with France at UEFA Euro 2016, is joining Chelsea on a £150,000($198,000)/per week deal, and his signing is a big boost for new Italian manager Antonio Conte, who had made Kante one of his primary targets.

Kante told Leicester City that he wanted to leave the Premier League champions and on Friday night, Chelsea were finalizing his arrival.

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri has admitted he does not want to lose Kante, but conceded he understands the midfielder’s desire to leave.

“We offered a new contract to him, he went away because he wanted to finish Euro 2016, and now there is so much speculation around him,” said Ranieri. “I don’t want to lose him but I can understand if he wants to go.

“I would like now to be sure who stays with me or not, because the friendly matches start now and I have to start to manage and change and try things.”

Kante is now Conte’s second signing of the summer after Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi. The 22-year-old Belgian signed a £33 million ($43.5 million) deal with Chelsea.

Kante, who was named in the Premier League team of the season last term, joined Leicester last summer from Ligue 1 Caen for £5.6 million ($7.4 million).

Conte also said Chelsea is also seeking to sign Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The club had previously made four failed bids at the 25-year-old Senegalese last year, and their pursuit of him this year has been again complicated by strong rival interest from Everton that has driven up the price.

“I am sure that in the coming days we can reach our target to reinforce the team to go closer to the other teams that now seem to stay higher in the table compared to Chelsea,” Conte said of Chelsea’s need to make signings. “In the coming days, we can buy one, two, three players. Players that can reinforce us for the season as it will be very, very tough.”

MARSEILLE, FRANCE – JUNE 15: N’Golo Kante of France during the UEFA Euro 2016 Group A match between France and Albania at Stade Velodrome on June 15, 2016 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)