Chelsea to make Kante their highest earner

Chelsea have offered to double N’Golo Kante’s money and make him their highest-paid player in a bid to keep him out of the grasp of Paris Saint-Germain.

The central midfielder’s stock has risen since he moved to Stamford Bridge, where he won the Premier League in his first season.

He was also an integral part of Didier Deschamps’ World Cup-winning squad in Russia this summer and The Times claim he has been rewarded with a new deal worth £15 million a season over five years.

The move comes amid reported interest in the midfielder from French giants, PSG, who last summer showed their financial muscle by wrestling Neymar away from Barcelona for £198 million.

If Kante puts pen to paper on the contract, he would go above Eden Hazard and become the Blues best-paid star.

Hazard, who is currently Chelsea’s highest earner on £220 000 a week, has been linked with a summer move to Real Madrid.

But if the Belgium star stays, he is likely to be rewarded with an improved deal worth in the region of £300 000 a week.

Kante, meanwhile, has not yet pushed to leave Stamford Bridge, with new manager Maurizio Sarri planning on using him on the right of recent addition Jorginho in a three-man midfield.

The 27-year-old, who joined for around £30 million in 2016 and is contracted until 2021 under the terms of his current deal, played in every one of France’s World Cup games.

Deschamps labelled him the “essential element” of his team, while midfield partner Paul Pogba joked that Kante “must have 15 lungs”.

Meanwhile,  Liverpool are ready to reward Sadio Mane’s outstanding progress with a bumper new contract that recognises his importance to Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Mane, the Senegal forward, has made giant strides since Liverpool paid £30 million to bring him from Southampton two summers ago; he still has three years remaining on his current deal and is not actively looking to improve his current terms, which are thought to be close to £100 000 per week.

But Liverpool, who extended the contracts of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino earlier this year, have let Mane’s agent Sasha Empacher know they will have no hesitation in re-writing and extending his deal after he played such a crucial role as Klopp’s side reached the Champions League final.

Empacher, who also looks after Mane’s new team-mate Naby Keita, was in New Jersey last Wednesday to watch Liverpool’s friendly against Manchester City and met both Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards.

There were stories in June that saw Mane linked with a move to Real Madrid but there was never any prospect of the 26-year-old, whose value has rocketed, being sold. Liverpool faced a saga 12 months ago when trying to keep Philippe Coutinho but Klopp feels the landscape has changed.

“This is what I have meant when I spoke about the mood in the club — that’s not only in the stands,” said Klopp, who has taken a 29-man squad to France for a training camp.

“We are Liverpool as a team and the boys want to be part of it.

“That’s really cool and it’s a big achievement for the club. These boys — Bobby Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane — and a lot of the others as well, could play for pretty much any team in the world. That’s how it is and a good sign for the club.

“It is an improved situation that these players don’t use us and then go. It’s cool but now we all together have to deliver. Sign your contracts but now, go again. Play and fight, run and shoot, all that stuff. That’s football.”

Coutinho joined Barcelona in a deal worth £146million in January. Liverpool tried to bring Nabil Fekir from Lyon to be his replacement in June but when that transfer failed on medical grounds, Klopp took stock and felt he had options within to fill Coutinho’s void.

‘The biggest thing we did in the second half of last season was that we didn’t need to speak too much about Phil,’ said Klopp.

‘That wasn’t clear in January. How could we have known that? We wish him well. We don’t need to replace Phil. We need to make a squad for the next year.

“Out there on the market, there isn’t a Phil Coutinho-lite. It’s not there. But there are a lot of good players and we have brought a few of them in.” — Mailonline