Patrick Rees
A recent report from Squawka has revealed a list of the clubs that tried to lure N’Golo Kante last summer. In the same report, they have stated that the former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was said to be a huge fan of N’Golo Kante and the Dutch tactician closely monitored his development last year.
Kante, who joined Leicester City back in 2015 for just £5.6m, was a complete revelation under Claudio Ranieri and many pointed him out as the key man in Leicester’s triumph last season. The source has further mentioned that Kante wanted a move to Parc des Princes in the past summer, but delayed his decision due to the Euro 2016, and during that period, Chelsea came up with a mouth watering £150,000-a-week wage offer and an undeniable agent’s fee which finalized his transfer.
Quite recently, before Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Arsenal, manager Arsene Wenger also revealed that he tried to sign the Frenchman twice, but failed to reach an agreement, hence, they went on to spend £35m to sign Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach in May. Furthermore, Tottenham Hotspur also made a reported enquiry for his availability, but they too failed to finance the move, and later went on bring Victor Wanyama from Southampton – which has worked out pretty well so far.
In case of Manchester United, had Louis van Gaal stayed, Kante might have joined United as he was thoroughly scouted and they also had their Europa League ticket to show for, but as soon as the Dutchman was sacked and Mourinho arrived, the entire transfer list was reshuffled and Mourinho prioritised Kante’s national team compatriot Paul Pogba as a worthy candidate.
Paul has had his moments in the Premier League, but he is yet to hit the strides. Kante, on the other hand, is on the verge to win yet another Premier League medal. While Pogba is still finding his footing, Kante is destroying his opponents game after game. Of course, it is certainly not fair to compare a box-to-box midfielder to a holding midfielder, but United have missed a trick to sign a capable replacement of Michael Carrick.
A midfield trio of Kante, Herrera and Pogba would certainly have wrecked havoc for United, but right at this very moment, they seem to be a stable side in midfield, what they need right now is to find a solution in the final third.
Do you think Kante would have been a good signing for United?
