N'Golo Kante to Arsenal: Gunners 'to move for Granit Xhaka' only if they can't sign Leicester midfielder

Arsenal are determined to strenghten their midfield this summer with both Xhaka and Kante on the radar

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Arsenal will launch a move for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka in the summer, only if they miss out on top target N’Golo Kante.

Arsene Wenger is reported to have made the Leicester City midfielder his top transfer target ahead of a summer of upheaval at the Emirates, with The Sun reporting that Kante’s excellent season at the King Power Stadium has thrown him onto the Arsenal radar.

The Gunners have been linked with a move for Xhaka throughout the season, but a move for the Swiss international could be put on hold to allow Wenger to go after Kante first. 25-year-old Kante was named in the PFA Team of the Year last weekend and was also included on the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year, though he missed out on the award to Leicester team-mate Riyad Mahrez.

Kante has been one of the pivotal figures in Leicester’s season with the Foxes on the cusp of an incredible Premier League title success, with Claudio Ranieri’s side able to seal the title with a victor at Manchester United this Sunday.

Wenger has admitted in the past that Kante is someone he has known about for a number of years and he admitted regretting not being the one to bringing Kante to the Premier League, as he felt the midfielder was not ready to come to England so soon into his career.

“I know him. You look at his career, you will be amazed. He has always adapted to the level where he was,” Wengr said.

“One of my best friends in life knows him since he was ten years old, and he spoke to me about him.

“We went to watch him and we saw he had quality. But I didn’t know he would come so quickly to England.”

Wenger added: “He played in Suresnes in Paris at the age of nine, ten years old. After he went to Boulogne as an amateur, they didn’t want to sign him pro.

Arsenal have already held talks over a move for Granit Xhaka (Getty)

“After, he went to Brest, I think, after to Caen, and then he came finally to England.”

It’s unsure how much Leicester would demand for the in-form midfielder, though talks have already taken place with Monchengladbach over a potential £27.5m deal for Xhaka. The 23-year-old has played 102 times for the Bundesliga side since arriving from Basel in 2012, and played against Champions League semi-finalists Manchester City this season when the two sides met in the group stage.