Transfer: N’Golo Kante to leave Chelsea as he receives £172m from new club 

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is all but set to leave the west London side this summer.

The Frenchman has already received a £172 million offer to join Saudi club Al Ittihad.

Kante is undoubtedly one of the best box to box midfielders in the top flight of English football and has been a mainstay in the Chelsea team over the past seven seasons.

The former Leicester City star has made 269 appearances for the Blues following a £32m move from the King Power Stadium in 2016.

The France international was unable to make as much of an impact last season, with injuries limiting him to just seven league appearances.

With his Chelsea contract set to expire this summer, the midfielder has been weighing up his options for several months amid interest from Barcelona and Arsenal.

But Saudi side Al Ittihad have now made the World Cup winner an offer too good to refuse, preparing a two-year contract worth around £86m a year.

Daily Mail reports that the Frenchman is close to agreeing terms with the Saudi Pro League side and is set to join the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in the Saudi league.

Chelsea were in talks with Kante over a contract extension but conversations stalled last month.

Kante suggested he would put pen to paper on a new deal with Chelsea after the 2022-23 season finished but a lucrative offer from Saudi has swayed his decision.