West Ham learn N'Golo Kante sale stance after making 'verbal offer'

West Ham United have seen an opening verbal offer for N'Golo Kante rejected by Al Ittihad, with a report revealing the Saudi Pro League club's reluctance to sell.

The Hammers' interest in Kante emerged earlier this week, with new manager Julen Lopetegui pushing for an ambitious move to link up with the France international.

Kante, 33, publicly admitted during Euro 2024 that he did not think his career in Europe is over but stressed his happiness in Saudi Arabia with Al Ittihad, who count Karim Benzema, Fabinho and Houssem Aouar among their most high-profile players.

According to The Athletic, the Saudi outfit have knocked back a verbal offer of £15m for Kante from West Ham.

Al Ittihad officials are said to have stressed that Kante is a crucial part of both the present and future of the club, and it would likely take at least £25m to tempt the Saudi side into even listening to a formal offer.

West Ham's interest in Kante remains but the club must now decide whether to raise their bid for the midfielder, who boasts 227 games of Premier League experience across his time with both Leicester City and Chelsea.

A new midfielder is on West Ham's agenda following the permanent sale of Flynn Downes to Southampton for a reported £18m.

While a £25m fee for Kante may sound reasonable, the overall cost of the deal could prove prohibitive to West Ham. The Frenchman is believed to be earning around £400,000-a-week in the Middle East and would have to agree to an immense wage cut to make his return to the Premier League this summer.

Injuries took their toll on Kante during his final few seasons with Chelsea but he did manage 43 starts in all competitions for Al Ittihad last year, even following that up with six straight starts for France at Euro 2024 this summer.

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