Kante to make Chelsea debut

7 years ago

Kante to make Chelsea debut

The France international looks set to play a part in the Blues's pre-season after joining the club's tour of America on Friday

Antonio Conte has revealed that Chelsea's newest signing N'Golo Kante will play at least 30 minutes against AC Milan in the International Champions Cup.

Kante has recently signed for Chelsea in a £32m deal from Premier League champions Leicester City but has yet to make an appearance for his new club after competing in the Euro 2016 final and then taking a holiday.

Conte revealed the team news after a training session at the brand new US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, in which Kante was involved in the training match and played alongside Nemanja Matic.

"Kante is in good shape. I found him in very good condition - now he is working on tactical aspects. But he is in good shape, he can certainly play one half or 30 minutes. He is ready."

The 25-year-old is Chelsea's second signing of the summer after they secured Michy Batshuayi for £33m from Marseille at the start of July.

Diego Costa looks likely to start after sitting out the last two pre-season games with complaints of a back problem and speculation linking him with a move to his old club Atletico Madrid, as Conte has insisted that his striker is happy.

“Diego is Chelsea’s player, and that is the most important thing. He is very happy to stay with us," he added. “Diego has recovered from his injury and now he is available. I will decide the formation and the starting 11 later. But he is available and I am happy I can count on him.”
Branislav Ivanovic looks set to be part of the squad against AC Milan after recovering from a knock he received in Chelsea's final pre-season game in Austria against Wolfsberger.

Kurt Zouma played in a training match but won't play any part in competitive matches, with the former Juventus boss keen to manage the defender's fitness as he recovers from an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

"Zouma is improving a lot and this is good news. But we know that his injury was very bad and for this reason we must respect the time it takes.

It’s important Zouma takes his time to be sure that when he goes into the team he stays there.

"But for me it’s important to see he’s improving and I’m very happy for the guy because his injury was very bad."