N’Golo Kante To Sign Long-Term Contract And 4 Other Big Stories At Chelsea Today

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Kante’s contract at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of the current campaign, leaving him able to negotiate a pre-contract with other clubs.

Barcelona and Liverpool have both been heavily linked with signing Kante on a Bosman Transfer.

However, the veteran midfielder has now decided to stay at Chelsea.

Kante has been a key player for Chelsea over the past few years, especially during the club’s 2021 Champions League success.

However, he has been increasingly injury-prone in recent seasons and questions will be raised over the fact that he turns 32 next month. He will thus be 36 when his new deal expires, and 37 if the option is activated.

READ ALSO: Pep Guardiola Shades Manchester United After Their Carabao Cup Win

Kante injury problems

Kante has suffered a string of injuries over the last year or two that have complicated contract talks.

The former Leicester City star has played just 175 minutes of football this season with a hamstring injury, while he had four different injuries last season as well as two bouts of Coronavirus. He missed the World Cup due to injury.

He has made 262 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 11 goals. He has won one Premier League title, one Champions League as well as the World Cup during his time at the club.

Both N’Golo KanteandChristian Pulisic were both spotted in Chelsea training ahead of their clash with Leeds.

Continuing our work. 🏃‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/Y4Ty31AeAz

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 28, 2023

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Boehly and Behdadi expected to attend Leeds clash

Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are both expected to be in attendance at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea take on Leeds this weekend.

With mounting pressure on Graham Potter, despite the support offered by the owners, it will be interesting to see how the fans react to the owners presence, should things go sideways on Saturday.

Lukaku dreams of joining Real Madrid

Chelsea have made a number of big signings in recent years. But interestingly, not many of them have worked out. That is one of the primary reasons why they find themselves in the position they are in right now and there is a fear amongst fans that they could be dragged into a relegation battle, with Graham Potter looking completely out of his depth at the moment.

Could one of their players head to Real Madrid in the future though?

Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League in 2021, defeating Real Madrid in the semis that season. Many would point to their signing of Romelu Lukaku the summer after, when things started to go wrong for them.

Lukaku struggled badly at Chelsea, and just a season after his €115 million transfer, was sent back to Inter Milan on loan. He has struggled in Italy as well, with both form and fitness.

But as reported by Fichajes (via Caught Offside), Lukaku doesn’t want to return to Chelsea and now dreams of a move to Real Madrid.

It is not hard to see why Lukaku might want to join Real Madrid. But it is almost impossible to see this move happening.

Maybe a couple of years back, when he was at the top of his game while playing under the management of Antonio Conte at Inter Milan, such a move would have made sense. But his track record since then has been nothing to write home about.

Lukaku had a terrible campaign at Chelsea, when the hope was that he would transform them into Premier League contenders. Then he has returned to Inter Milan on loan but failed to capture the magic of old. And his World Cup campaign with Belgium was one to forget as well, as they were knocked out from the group stages.

Chelsea’s Levi Colwill plan revealed

Chelsea still see young centre-back Levi Colwill as a big part of their long-term plans despite signing Benoit Badiashile in January according to reports.

The Blues are planning to offer the defender a new long-term contract and give him a chance in the first team next season, The Telegraph reports.

The Blues have had a massive turnover of players at the back, bringing in four defenders in the last six months including centre-backs Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, and now Badiashile.

Marc Cucurella can also play on the left side of a back three, with those four signings amounting to transfer fees in excess of £190million.

Incredibly, the west London club are also still interested in signing RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol, who would likely command a record transfer fee for a defender if he leaves Germany in the summer.

However, despite their massive expenditure on new defenders, The Athletic report that Chelsea still view Colwill as part of their long-term plans.

The 19-year-old struggled for game time on loan at Brighton at the start of the season but has impressed more recently, starting the Seagulls’ last seven matches in a row following an injury sustained to Adam Webster.