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Former Arsenal ace Ian Wright has advised Chelsea to buy a replacement for their injury-prone star midfielder N’Golo Kante this summer.
Since moving to Stamford Bridge from Leicester City in 2016, Kante has produced numerous top-drawer performances for the west London outfit. The Frenchman, though, has been having a tough time keeping himself fit lately.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner missed 16 games in the 2021-21 season due to various injuries (groin, knee, unknown) and Coronavirus (via Transfermarkt).
Wright believes that Chelsea need to replace the injury-prone star sooner rather than later, but is unsure how things will work under new owner Todd Boehly. Speaking to Premier League Productions (via The Express), the former forward said:
"What's going to happen with Chelsea next season? Without an owner who used to just write off £100million every year. Is the new owner going to be able to do that? Because that's how they've been able to do what they have been doing."
He added:
"How's that going to happen now? They need defenders, they're going to need defenders. Kante's starting to get a little bit of injuries, so they're going to need to replace him. What's happening with [Romelu] Lukaku?”
He added that the off-field turmoil has impacted the team, which was made evident in the closing weeks of the season.
Wright added:
“It's just crazy what's happening at Chelsea. I can't really put my finger on it deep down. But form's gone, you see some of the games they've had, they've been so poor in the games.”
The UK Government has green-lit the sale of the club to Boehly after stringently verifying that current owner Roman Abramovich would not receive a single penny from it. The new owners are expected to be in attendance when the new campaign officially commences in August.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel to receive £200million in his first transfer window under new ownership
The Telegraph (via The Daily Mail) has claimed that Todd Boehly’s consortium will give Tuchel a £200million war chest for the summer. The fee is inclusive of the funds the club would generate from player sales.
Considering the Blues are set to lose Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger (both free agents), they could first use the funds to reinforce their defense.
