I left Chelsea to earn '£400k per week' - but now I could quit to play for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
N’Golo Kante is thought to be considering a shock return to European football.
It was once famously joked that 70% of the earth is covered by water while that the rest is covered by N’Golo Kante due to the midfielder’s tireless work rate, incredible tenacity and his ability to just about beat anyone in a battle in the middle of the park.
It’s now nearly a decade since the French midfielder arrived at Leicester from recently promoted Ligue 1 side Caen it was fair to say when he came in for just £5.6m he was something of an unknown quantity with little if any hype surrounding him. But how did N’Golo Kante establish himself as one of the very best players in the world and could he make a shock return to Europe this summer after two years in Saudi Arabia?
The rise of N’Golo Kante
N’Golo Kante joined a Leicester City team that was firm favourites to be relegated from the Premier League under new manager Claudio Ranieri after controversially parting ways with the man that inspired them to promotion and a great escape Nigel Pearson.
However, he quickly showed that he was a force to be reckoned with in English football - and ended up being a catalyst for the team’s stunning 5000/1 title triumph in his very first season.
Claudio Ranieri praised N'Golo Kante as a man "born for football" at the time and joked that he was someone that played with batteries in his shorts. Marc Albrighton added, via Talk Sport: “N’Golo Kante won us the league. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The Frenchman’s underlying stats in the 2015/16 season were amongst the best the Premier League had ever seen for interceptions, tackles and breaking down opposing attacks.
But much more was still to come for Kante as the 5 ft 6 in midfielder joined a Chelsea side that had just finished 10th in the Premier League before 12 months later celebrating yet another league title and this time earning the PFA Player of the Season award. He also became the first player since Eric Cantona to win back-to-back English titles with two different clubs.
The following year saw Kante play an imperative role in a World Cup victory for France while featuring in nearly every game. Meanwhile, at Chelsea he still had time to win the FA Cup, Europa League and most notably the UEFA Champions League while notably getting the Man of the Match award against Manchester City in the final.
Everything Kante touched seemed to turn to gold in an illustrious six-year-period in English football but in his final season at Chelsea, the talented midfielder started to show signs of slowing down and was limited to just nine appearances across all competitions as the Blues failed to qualify for Europe and finished in the bottom half of the table.
That same summer, Kante decided to call time on his career at the highest level and agreed to follow a number of high profile names to Saudi Arabia as he signed for Al-Ittihad on a free transfer at the end of his contract while signing a deal which was worth a reported £86m.
Could N’Golo Kante return to European football?
N'Golo Kante has entered talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over a potential return to Europe with Turkish side Besiktas this summer, according to reports from local outlet Yeni Asir.
The 2018 World Cup winner is reportedly keen to leave the Middle East this summer after two campaigns in the Saudi Pro League and reportedly has a release clause of around £21m inserted into his current contract. Kante has played 70 times in two seasons for Al-Ittihad, scoring seven goals and assisting nine times while rediscovering his fitness for the Jeddah based side.
The move would be seen as a real statement of intent for Besiktas, who have ambitions of becoming a real force in Turkish football after four seasons without a league title and Solskjaer is believed to be keen on creating a partnership of Kante and former England international Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, who himself has enjoyed a resurgence in recent weeks.
Kante is yet to publicly declare his stance ahead of an important season which comes in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. He did, however, tell Mirror Sport that moving to Saudi was a key contributor behind his return to the France squad before Euro 2024, he said back then: “2021 remains one of the pinnacles of my career,” he recalled. After that, it was more complicated with Chelsea with less good results and some injuries. Going to Saudi Arabia was beneficial for me. It was a good way to get back in shape and play matches, I’m happy to have made this choice.”