N’Golo Kante is ready to walk away from Chelsea on a free transfer if they fail to raise the length of the contract on offer to him at Stamford Bridge.
The France international is out of contract at the end of the campaign and is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign teams from January 1st.
The 31-year-old has been blighted by injuries in the last three years, having just 66 league appearances in that time.
Nevertheless, he remains one of the most effective players in world football and the West London club are keen to keep him.
However, Chelsea want Kante to recognise his increasing injury problem when it comes to agreeing a new contract at the club.
The Blues have offered Kante a two-year deal, which the played has turned down. Kante rejected Chelsea’s proposal and wants a four-year deal, similar to the one that they handed Kalidou Koulibaly earlier this summer.
Paris Saint-Germain are tracking Kante and they’re willing to offer him a longer deal if it persuades him to return to France.
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Chelsea therefore risk losing the midfielder, who they signed for £30m in 2016, on a free. And Kante returned from injury this week, having not played since the 2-2 draw against Tottenham in August.
Potter wants to keep Kante but he says his immediate focus is on getting him back to full fitness.
‘My focus is to help him rehabilitate in a good way so he is available for us. When on the pitch, he is a huge asset for us. The other stuff (contract talks) is between the club and him,’ said Potter.
‘My focus is to help him get fit and enjoying his football. There are not many players in world football like him, so the quicker he is back for us the better. That is where I leave my focus.’
‘It’s hard to replace someone like him,’ Potter added. ‘He is a world-class player and any team that loses him will suffer a little bit. But it’s up to the other players to take the step up and find the solutions.
‘If we look at the options we’ve got, even if there isn’t a direct replacement, there are other solutions in there so we have to find the right one.’
