Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is very close to signing a new contract with the club and it is only a matter of when the club plan to announce it, according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law.
Kante is in the final months of his contract at Chelsea, so many expect the club to be under pressure to secure the deal before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
Law, however, claims that the club’s seemingly relaxed stance is because they have already done their work behind the scenes.
“I keep hearing that everything has been positive,” Law told London is Blue Podcast when speaking about the contract negotiations between Chelsea and Kante.
“It’s on the verge of being agreed upon if not already verbally.
“I think it’s a case of timing now of when they want to actually finish it off and announce it.
“I keep getting told that there’s no problem, it’s all there, it’s all pretty much done, so let’s hope that is still the case.”
Law also added that the feeling around the negotiations has been positive for weeks.
Blues manager Graham Potter has been really cautious in managing Kante’s recovery, having refused to deploy the midfielder as a substitute against Everton last week.
Some fans were not very happy with the decision, but considering Kante has been out for seven months due to a hamstring injury, it arguably made sense.
This might have also been an indication that Potter has plans for Kante in the long term.
The 31-year-old finally returned to the pitch on Friday, playing 60 minutes in a 3-0 behind-closed-doors friendly win over Charlton Athletic.
It remains unclear whether the France international will be fit enough to start against Aston Villa after the international break, but the focus should be on making sure that he is available for the big matches, including against Liverpool and Real Madrid.
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