Although they had a £15m verbal offer rejected out-of-hand on Thursday, West Ham are pursuing two-time Premier League champion N’Golo Kante as the acquisitions under new manager Julen Lopetegui continue to roll. Meanwhile, creative midfielder Lucas Pacqueta’s uncertain future will linger after investigations into his spot-fixing allegations won’t be resolved until 2025.
Hammers hopeful they can strike Kante deal
- As new season countdown continues, West Ham are keen to bolster squad depth and quality under new management with David Moyes’ successor Julen Lopetegui at the helm. They’ve already spent £60m this summer and recently been linked with Fikayo Tomori, Ivan Toney as well as Kante
- Pure profit: Guardian sources suggest £20m fee would be enough to complete deal, while The Athletic quoting £25m figure for an experienced midfielder Al-Ittihad claimed on a free from Chelsea last summer
- Kante is said to be happy in Saudi Arabia but equally open to a move back to the UK’s capital city, where he spent seven years and won nine accolades (seven collective, two individual) during west London spell
IT will be interesting to see how West Ham introduce and unveil N’Golo Kante back on UK shores, should they agree terms with the 33-year-old and Saudi side Al-Ittihad, where he joined in a lucrative three-year contract on a free twelve months ago.
Hammers fans can be cynical at the best of times and while Kante is an expensive acquisition with some upside, he’s also the wrong side of 30 with a decade’s worth of experience at the highest level. There will be questions surrounding his motivation, especially if not a surefire starter for a side outside the European competitions.
Having burst onto the scene with Caen and later Leicester, Chelsea signed him for £32m the summer after the Foxes‘ fairytale Premier League triumph.
Following seven years and 269 games with the Blues, he managed just nine appearances during his final campaign after hamstring and groin injuries.
One of three high-earning players who departed for Saudi shores last summer, it was widely expected the move would signal the end of his international endeavours.
However the relentless midfielder was surprisingly recalled to Didier Deschamps’ France squad for the European Championships and fared well over his six matches in Germany as they reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champions Spain, with many believing that shows he hasn’t lost any ability in an inferior league.
The same could be said for eventual champion Aymeric Laporte (Al-Nassr) and Turkey centre-back Merih Demiral (Al-Ahli), though both are central defenders with different responsibilities to that of Kante’s tireless and often thankless midfield role.
Kalvin Phillips’ loan spell was not made permanent after the Manchester City man’s forgettable stint in east London, while Aleix Garcia – another City alum – was linked before agreeing a £12m move to join Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Lopetegui held an interest in Kante during his own short-lived stint as Real Madrid boss in 2018 and that still remains, now that he’s back on English soil again after differences of opinion saw him depart on the eve of the 2023-24 campaign.
Tomas Soucek and Edson Álvarez are both defensive-minded midfielders, though Kante is viewed as a stronger and more consistent option than both – plus Lopetegui prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation – so he’d likely partner one at the base to free up James Ward-Prowse in a more creative-minded position further forward.
That last detail is important, should the uncertainty surrounding Lucas Paqueta continue. The Brazil international, 27 next month, has been cleared to play for the bulk of the forthcoming campaign despite spot-fixing allegations because the complexities surrounding his case mean an outcome isn’t likely until 2025.
West Ham have already rebuffed an ambitious loan approach from the creative midfielder’s boyhood club Flamengo, while Saudi interest remains – both for him and Mohammed Kudus, who impressed after a £35m move from Ajax last term.
Picture source: Getty Images
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