Chelsea star ‘on the verge’ of sealing staggering £86m exit as Newcastle United owners near latest agreement

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is set to become the latest high-profile player to move to Saudi Arabia this summer.

It was announced on Monday that Newcastle United’s majority owners, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, had taken a 75 per-cent stake in Saudi Pro League teams Al Ahli, Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ittihad as part of Saudi Arabia’s sports clubs investment and privatization project.

And since then, some of world football’s most iconic names have been approached over a move to those PIF-owned clubs.

Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema signed a three-year contract worth a reported £172million-per-season with Al Ittihad on Tuesday. And it’s widely claimed that the Frenchman is on the verge of being joined by fellow countryman Kante.

A delegation from Al Ittihad was in London on Tuesday evening to go over the terms of a two-year deal worth around £86m-a-year. The 32-year-old is a free agent at the end of this month after seven years at Stamford Bridge.

Elsewhere, Al Hilal are waiting for a decision from Argentina legend Lionel Messi after he was offered a reported two-year deal worth over £1billion. The 35-year-old World Cup winner is also considering offers from Barcelona and Inter Miami.

Having also secured the services of Cristiano Ronaldo in January, Saudi Arabia has reportedly submitted offers to the likes of Serge Busquets, Paul Pogba, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Wilfried Zaha and Hugo Lloris. Many more household names are expected to follow.