N’Golo Kante open to huge pay cut for West Ham United transfer
N’Golo Kante is open to taking a pay cut to join West Ham United from Al-Ittihad this summer, according to GiveMeSport.
Writing on their website (19 July), the news outlet report that the Hammers have held talks about a transfer for the 33-year-old World Cup winner, although a deal is far from being agreed with the Saudi giants keen to keep him.
Kante signed a three-year deal last summer worth around £400,000 per-week after leaving Chelsea, and West Ham obviously can’t afford a deal on those terms.
But Kante’s wage demands would be “realistic” if he were given the green light to leave Al-Ittihad, with the Irons confident they wouldn’t have to break their existing wage structure to agree a deal.
West Ham United to add N’Golo Kante to the squad?
He may be ex-Chelsea and he may be 33-years-old now, but Kante would still be one hell of a signing this summer.
Talk of a £20million fee has been dashed [Sky Sports, 19 July] which could harm any deal, and Kante is not willing to force through a move and will be respectful to his current club [L’Equipe, 19 July].
But West Ham have clearly been given encouragement from somewhere that he would be open to arriving at the London Stadium this summer, and if that’s the case they’re doing the right thing by exploring it.
Kante at his best was the best midfielder in the world, described as “unreal” by Rio Ferdinand and almost winning midfield battles on his own, but he can’t do that anymore.
However with the right squad around him and with his minutes managed properly, he could be a huge asset to any Premier League team and Julen Lopetegui would no doubt be grinning ear-to-ear if he can get a deal over the line.
In other West Ham news, a player is close to sealing a £37m move to the London Stadium.
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