Chelsea willing to lose £100 million duo but veteran defender set for contract extension

Chelsea are moving towards losing both N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy in the summer as contract talks for both have been held up.

French midfielder N’Golo Kante is only now returning to full fitness and is set to return to team training by next week- but his contract is still up in the air.

The club is proposing a two year extension while Kante’s camp are adamant he deserved a three year deal based on service and importance to the team in high profile games.

Kante’s demands has left both player and club very far apart in discussions even if Chelsea are still keen on keeping the 2018 World Cup winner. The arrival of Enzo Fernandez also means Chelsea are not under pressure to renew Kante’s deal.

The 31-year-old has not played since the second game of the season when he picked up a hamstring injury against Tottenham- at that time it looked like a two weeks setback but it’s ended up causing him to miss the World Cup in Qatar.

Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is in a similar situation as he is yet to agree a new contract that he believes will match his standing at the club. The Senegal international hasn’t played since injuring his finger at the World Cup but was one of the secret weapons as Chelsea defied odds and won the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2021.

Mendy is undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers in the world and his start to life at Chelsea meant the club had a platform to be successful and win trophies.

Injuries and constant changes to the back line has seen him been in and out of the team but the goalkeeper’s camp have turned down a new contract proposal which they believe is not a significant increase on his current £2.5 million a year deal he’s on at the club.

AC Milan and Juventus have all been linked recently and talks are expected to continue into the summer before a decision is made on his future.

The final call on Mendy will be made by manager Graham Potter-but the Chelsea boss has already given his consent for the club to offer Brazilian defender Thiago Silva another contract that will see him stay beyond this season.

Despite being 38, the former PSG defender is one of the most consistent players for Graham Potter’s side.