N’Golo Kante’s exit from Chelsea has dragged on – but midfielder will be remembered as fondly as Claude Makelele

The protracted saga of midfield maestro N’Golo Kante’s departure from SW6 is taking on almost epic proportions.

Kante has been the subject of a move from the Bridge since the beginning of last season when he entered the final year of his deal in SW6. Fans are going on to social media wailing and lamenting at the possibility of losing their hero, while the player and club remain steadfastly quiet on the issue.

While there is great talk about transparency and ‘engaging’ with the fans, it seems the top bods and players will engage only if it suits them.

Kante or his advisors are probably weighing up what’s best for him – a reduced playing time with wages which reflect this or a £100million-a-year, two-year deal to play out East, where the sun always shines and the sky is air-conditioned.

Okay, that last bit is a slight exaggeration, but the stadia in which the French star will play will have fantastic temperature-controlled machines to ensure their prized assets don’t get too hot.

At 32, Kante is past his prime as a player – he knows it, Chelsea know it and the sobbing fans probably know it too.

His increasingly worrying injury record is not suddenly going to be reversed. How many games could the club realistically play him, would he be worth it, when they already have spent the thick end of £110m on his replacement Enzo Fernandez?

Of course not.

Kante will head off into the sun in early July with an agent’s well-written ‘thank you and goodbye’ message posted on social media – because that’s the way fans and the media are treated nowadays.

By all accounts, Kante was a lovable and well-respected player and person. As an interviewee, it was quite tough as his English, while vastly improved during his time in England, was not always the best.

When he first arrived myself and another journo managed to get 14 seconds of ‘yes, and ‘no’s’ with him.  We felt it would be unfair to continue. He was shy but keen to please, the hallmark of a strong personality.

But times change, he gave me a little wave and ‘no thanks’ when I asked for a comment from him on the last game of the season.

Perhaps he was still shy not wanting to negate his own social media goodbye message. Either way, he was a true Chelsea success and will be remembered in the same way that Claude Makelele still is today.