N’Golo Kante dumps Leicester for Chelsea

Chelsea have signed Leicester City midfielder N’Golo Kante on a five-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £30m.

The defensive midfielder joined from Caen last summer for £6m and went on to make 40 appearances in Leicester’s Premier League-winning campaign.

Kante, 25, was part of the France squad that reached the final of Euro 2016.

“I am so happy to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It’s a dream come true for me,” he said.

Kante is new Chelsea coach Antonio Conte’s second signing after Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi joined from Marseille.

“The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte, a brilliant coach, and some of the best players in the world was simply too good to turn down,” said Kante.

Leicester, who defied pre-season odds of 5,000-1 to win the title, said they accepted a club record fee yesterday before Kante finalised terms and completed a medical.

“Despite the offer of a substantially improved, long-term contract, made before this summer’s European Championships, it became apparent after the tournament that N’Golo’s wish was to join Chelsea,” said a Foxes statement.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy turned down a move to Arsenal earlier in the summer, but there is continued speculation winger Riyad Mahrez could leave.