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Chelsea are in desperate need of letting players leave Stamford Bridge this summer as they look to balance their books.
The Stamford Bridge outfit brought in a huge number of players in the last two transfer windows, meaning several stars will be forced out in the coming months.
And one high-profile exit from West London has now been confirmed by transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, with the news that N’Golo Kante will join Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad.
Chelsea midfielder joins Al Ittihad
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Kante joined Chelsea from Leicester City in 2016, having spent just one season at the Foxes after his transfer from French side Caen.
The hugely talented midfielder left the King Power Stadium a club legend after helping them lift the 2015/16 Premier League title.
Unfortunately for Leicester, the big guns came calling, with Chelsea taking no time at all to bring the midfielder to Stamford Bridge.
He went on to lift the Premier League title once more in his first season at Stamford Bridge, as well as lifting countless other trophies in blue, including the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup.
The France star made a total of 269 appearances for the West London outfit, but his time on the pitch was cut short in recent times due to various injuries.
And now he is seemingly on his way out, with Kante reportedly signing a two-year deal with Al Ittihad.
“N’Golo Kante to Al Ittihad, here we go!” Romano wrote on Twitter. “Medical tests completed in London. Two-year deal with an option for further season.
“€100m (£86m) per season salary – figure includes image rights, commercial deals and ‘creative’ portfolio.”
Saudi Arabian switches taking off
Kante is not the only high-profile player to be making a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad this summer, with Real Madrid icon Karim Benzema also set to make a move there in the coming weeks.
The duo are, of course, joining global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in that league, with the Portugal legend currently playing for Al Nassr.
There has been plenty of talk regarding the likes of Lionel Messi also making a switch to Saudi Arabia, with the Argentine icon leaving current club PSG this summer, but he looks likely to join MLS club Inter Miami.
China tried and somewhat failed to bring various world-class stars to the country many years ago, but given the money available to players in Saudi Arabia, it really could grow and grow as the main destination for top-class footballers in the near future.
Further Chelsea exits likely
As mentioned, there will be plenty of Chelsea exits this summer, with Kante definitely not the only player to be leaving Stamford Bridge in the coming weeks and months.
New manager Mauricio Pochettino has a lot to deal with behind the scenes in West London, but getting rid of any dead wood or any players who do not want to be there will definitely be among his main priorities.
There will be many Chelsea stars unsure of what the future holds for them under Pochettino, with the likes of Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount among many others potentially leaving Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window.
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