Paul Pogba wasn’t the only French international midfielder Jose Mourinho was looking to buy this summer.
N’Golo Kante, who made the swap from Premier League holders Leicester City to last season’s mid-table fodder Chelsea, was also on the Special One’s radar.
The France midfielder revealed to Sky Sports that he received a personal phone call from the Red Devils boss a few weeks after the Foxes won English football’s top prize.
Jose Mourinho poaches Irish coach from Tottenham https://t.co/QO8OmsgyVK pic.twitter.com/68aKWOJv0E
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 29, 2016
Kante explained that he did hold negotiations with Mourinho, but ultimately, he snubbed the offer in favour of a £32m switch to Chelsea. He confessed that Antonio Conte’s presence at Chelsea played a pivotal factor in his decision.
“It was amazing to have Mourinho call me, even though I’d been warned before how he would appeal to me. I listened to his arguments about why I should move to United, but at that time I was hesitant between staying at Leicester or leaving for Chelsea.”
“My discussions with them were already well underway. But when I spoke, I had a good feeling with Conte.”
Well, that “good feeling” appears to be paying off as not only have Chelsea enjoyed a perfect start to the new campaign, but Kante has also played the full 90 minutes in each of their three wins.
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