Ngolo Kanté: Mourinho wanted me to sign for Man Utd

Manchester United manager José Mourinho contacted N’Golo Kanté to try and convince the French midfielder to move to Old Trafford before he joined Chelsea, according to reports.

Multiple reports in the British press are quoting Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kanté claiming that Manchester United boss José Mourinho called him while he was still a Leicester Player in an attempt to convince the 25-year-old to sign for United.

But the France international insisted that he only had eyes for Chelsea, and ended up signing for the Blues in a £32 million deal.

United ended up spending around £145 million on players this summer, with Paul Pogba arriving from Juventus for a world record fee of £89 million, Eric Bailly signing from Villarreal for £30, Henrikh Mkhitaryan brought in from Borussia Dortmund for £26 million and veteran Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed from Paris Saint Germain on a free transfer.

But it has emerged on the last few days that perhaps United were hoping for further midfielder reinforcements, as, in addition to Kanté’s claims, it is being reported that the Red Devils tried to sign Croatian midfield maestro Ivan Rakitic from FC Barcelona, only for the former Basel and Schalke 04 player to elect to remain with the Spanish champions.

Kanté has played every minute of Chelsea’s first three Premier League games so far this season, helping the Blues to take nine points from a possible nine.