Chelsea may replace N’Golo Kante with World Cup star Edson Alvarez

Chelsea could replace N’Golo Kante with Mexico World Cup star Edson Alvarez in January. And the midfielder is reportedly expecting an offer from the west London giants to come his way after rising to prominence with Ajax.

Kante has struggled with a whole host of injury issues over the last few seasons and looks set to depart the Blues next summer. The 31-year-old Frenchman is out of contract at Stamford Bridge at the end of the campaign and has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona.

Chelsea will be keen to bolster their midfield ahead of Kante’s departure and could turn to Alvarez, who played twice for his country at the World Cup as they exited the tournament at the end of the group stages.

The Blues reportedly made a £43million move for the 25-year-old at the end of the summer transfer window earlier this year. And, according to transfer expert Simon Phillips, Alvarez is anticipating that Chelsea will come back in for him in the New Year.

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Ajax weren’t willing to allow Alvarez to leave the club in the summer as they wouldn’t have been able to replace him so close to the transfer deadline. And the ace was disappointed to have missed out on a move to Stamford Bridge as he was keen to join the club. But he could finally be set to get his move.

Alvarez joined Ajax from CF America in his homeland in 2019 and has gone on to make 122 appearances for the Dutch club. This season, he started all six of Ajax’s Champions League group games and found the back of the net as his side thumped Rangers 4-0 in September. But he couldn’t help the Eredivisie champions qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.

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The talented ace, who was one of Mexico’s best players in Qatar, still has two-and-a-half years remaining on his current deal, however. So Chelsea will have to splash the cash to get their hands on their man.

The club’s pursuit of Alvarez could signify that they have given up hope of retaining Kante beyond his current deal. The dynamic midfielder, who won the Premier League with the Blues in 2017 after helping Leicester land the trophy against all the odds a year earlier, has played 262 times for the club but has only started two Premier League matches this season after injuring his hamstring.

And, according to SPORT, Barcelona have held talks with the player’s representatives about a move to the Nou Camp and a pre-contract agreement is practically in place.