Agbonlahor suggests multiple ‘clauses’ inserted as Kante deal close to being agreed at Chelsea
Gabby Agbonlahor has suggested N’Golo Kante may only reap the full benefits of his potential new three-year Chelsea contract if he is able to remain fit.
The former Aston Villa striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed it would be “terrible” for the Blues to award the 31-year-old new terms without adding certain stipulations.
According to ESPN (28 February), Kante is close to signing a new deal at Chelsea which will keep him at the club until June 2026.
His current contract, which nets him a reported wage of £290,000-a-week, was set to expire at the end of this season.
Kante has managed just two appearances this season after suffering a serious hamstring injury in August 2022.
He was also sidelined for large parts of the 2021-22 campaign through several other fitness problems – including knee and groin injuries.
Agbonlahor told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “I feel that this contract might have some clauses in it.
“He’ll have to play a certain amount of games.
“Chelsea can’t just give him a straight-up three-year contract after the injury problems he’s had. It would be a terrible decision.
“I’m sure he’ll have to start maybe 50% or 75% of the games in order to get the full wage, or any of the bonuses tied to it.
“He’s got such a bad injury record, he could easily get injured again at the start of next season and they’d be back to square one.”
Chelsea sit 10th in the Premier League – 14 points adrift of the fight for Champions League qualification.
Kante has resumed training ahead of a potential return to action in the coming weeks.
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