Manchester United make contact with N'Golo Kante's representatives ahead of surprise bid
Manchester United are keen to bolster their midfield with the Chelsea star - but Kante would need to take hefty wage cut
Manchester United have made contact with the agent of N'Golo Kante ahead of a shock bid to sign the midfielder from Chelsea, according to Mirror reports.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is said to be a huge admirer of the French World Cup winner and believes his international partnership with Paul Pogba could lay the foundations for success at United this season.
The club made contact with Kante's representatives over the weekend and have informed the player that he would need to take a wage cut on his £300,000 a-week salary if he wants to join, however. Kante was a key member of the Leicester City squad that stunned world football by winning the Premier League in 2015/16, and has won one further crown at Stamford Bridge since joining that summer.
The Red Devils have already bolstered their midfield with the signing of Donny van de Beek this summer, but Solskjaer feels a ball-winning midfielder would give his side some added steel in their bid to compete with Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title.
Kante has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea following the club's huge spending spree this summer. Blues boss Frank Lampard was already in two minds about Kante's value to the team, preferring to partner Jorginho with Mateo Kovacic at the base of midfield.
He also has Ross Barkley, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Kai Havert and the injured Billy Gilmour wto choose from. It is believed that Kante, as well as Danny Drinkwater and Tiemoue Bakayako, are up for sale this summer as Chelsea attempt to recoup some of the £200m they have spent on new singings.
Kante started for Chelsea at the weekend as the Blues overturned a three-goal deficit to draw with promoted side West Brom. The 29-year old is also reportedly a target for Serie A club Inter Milan, coached by former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
NOW READ...
RANKED! The 100 greatest FIFA songs ever
GUIDE Premier League live stream best VPN: how to watch every game from anywhere in the world
FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.