Kanté set for £29m Chelsea move

Leicester City midfielder N'Golo Kanté is set to sign for Chelsea, rejecting the chance to join Real Madrid, according to reports in France.

Le Parisien claims that Chelsea have offered €35 million (£29.2 million) for the French midfielder, and Kanté prefers a switch to Stamford Bridge over a move to European champions Real Madrid.

Kanté was consistently outstanding throughout Leicester's remarkable Premier League winning campaign last season, earning a nomination for the PFA Player of the Year award for his efforts.

His performances were also noticed by France national team boss Didier Deschamps, who handed Kanté his international debut earlier this year, before selecting him in his 23-man squad for the UEFA European Championship on home soil.

Despite being a regular starter for France early on, Kanté was substituted at half-time during the last-16 win over the Republic of Ireland, and did not feature again, as Les Bleus fell to a shock defeat against Portugal in the final.

But Kanté's stellar reputation as one of the Premier League's finest defensive midfielders remained intact, and it now appears that new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has swooped to sign the former Caen midfielder.

If a deal for the 25-year-old Leicester player is completed, he would become Chelsea's second major summer signing, following the capture of 22-year-old Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi from Marseille for around €40 million.