It’s fair to say that Sky Sports pundit Keith Andrews is still baffled over how Man Utd didn’t do their utmost to sign N’Golo Kante ahead of Chelsea.
After playing a fundamental role in Leicester City’s title success, the French star moved on to Stamford Bridge in 2016 where he went on to add another Premier League title to his collection.
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Having also won the World Cup this past summer, it’s no coincidence that he has been so heavily involved in such historic moments for both club and country as he continues to play a pivotal part in the success of both.
As seen in Russia this past summer, Paul Pogba appeared to relish having the combative and energetic 27-year-old by his side in the France midfield, and Andrews has questioned Man Utd’s decision not to do more to sign Kante when he was set to leave Leicester in 2016.
“He is the best in the business at winning the ball back and keeping things simple. In terms of the contract, no-brainer,” Andrews told Sky Sports. “And how cheap was he each time… £5.5m to Leicester and even £32m to Chelsea. How Manchester United didn’t go and get him to partner Pogba in midfield, I have no idea.”
Given the Red Devils were busy prising their superstar back to Old Trafford that same summer, perhaps adding Kante to the squad too wasn’t really a realistic possibility.
Nevertheless, while Andrews points to France as a perfect example of why it would have worked so well for them if they had reunited the duo at club level too, Pogba also flourished at Juventus with both he and Andrea Pirlo allowed to express themselves while midfield general Arturo Vidal did most of the dirty work.
In turn, it’s an obvious solution as Pogba continues to struggle to consistently deliver at Man Utd. While it had been suggested that Jose Mourinho was eyeing a move, as per The Express, it has also been noted by the Evening Standard that Kante is closing in on signing a new Chelsea contract and so the opportunity or idea of signing him has seemingly well and truly passed for United now.
