Barcelona rivalled by Saudi Arabian giants in pursuit of Chelsea veteran – report

Barcelona have cemented their interest in signing free agents and low-cost solutions in the transfer market, given their financial condition.

They established this by signing Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia, and Kun Aguero in the summer of 2021, before moving on to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Marcos Alonso, and Hector Bellerin across two windows in 2022.

Still consumed by their financial turmoil, Barcelona have set their sights on few more players they can sign on a free transfer, one of whom is Chelsea veteran N’Golo Kante.

The Frenchman becomes a free agent in the summer of 2023 and is yet to put pen to paper for a new deal.

Barcelona have been interested in signing the player to give defensive rigidity and experience to their relatively young midfield.

However, it seems their pursuit of him will be far from easy. FootMercato report that Barcelona will face competition from Saudi Arabian giants Al-Nassr for Kante.

The Arab outfit want to add him to a team that already looks set to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in January on a €200 million contract. Kante, too, is not against the idea of playing for Al-Nassr.

Both teams – Barcelona and Al-Nassr – face some problems in their race to sign Kante. For the former, it is their financial restrictions, which may halt them from offering the Chelsea midfielder a lucrative enough contract.

For the latter, meanwhile, is the excess of foreign players. The Saudi Professional League allows for seven non-domestic players, while Al-Nassr currently have eight.

Barcelona are also reportedly worried about Kante’s injury issues. He missed the World Cup due to a hamstring knock earlier this season, and has developed a knack for getting injured across the last two seasons.

The decision pretty much lies in the hands of Chelsea, now, because Kante, for one, would be happy to stay back in London if the Blues offer him a new contract.