Chelsea are reportedly eyeing moves for both Leicester City’s N’Golo Kante and Sporting Lisbon’s Joao Mario as they look to strengthen their midfield ahead of the 2016-17 season. 

According to Matt Law in the Telegraph, Chelsea have opened talks to sign France international Kante from the Foxes following the end of Euro 2016 but are aware they may have to pay more than his £20 million release clause after Chinese club Shanghai SIPG offered £35 million for the 25-year-old.

Law added that Kante is not interested in going to China and has “set his heart on a move to Stamford Bridge.” While the Blues are likely to have to pay more than £20 million, they are unlikely to go as high as £35 million.

Per the Daily Mail‘s Matt Barlow, Antonio Conte will begin his role as the new Chelsea manager on Tuesday and is expected to sanction a formal bid for Kante to get negotiations started.

Kante was widely considered one of the Premier League’s best players as the Foxes won an unexpected title last season, per Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe:

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s previously immaculate midfield pairing of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic were poor in 2015-16, a key reason why the Blues could only finish 10th in the English top flight.

Additions are needed in the Chelsea engine room, and there are few better available candidates than Kante.

A tireless worker, Kante is excellent on the ball and has a terrific passing range, while his ability to interrupt opposition attacks is largely unmatched in the Premier League.

Per uMAXit Football’s Jack Rathborn, Kante could be the man to get Chelsea back in the title race next term:

Meanwhile, Mario could be another fine addition to the Chelsea midfield fresh from winning Euro 2016 with Portugal.

Per TuttoMercatoWeb’s Gianluigi Longari, Chelsea now have the 23-year-old on their wish list and are prepared to go up against Inter Milan to sign him.

Longari added that Mario is open to leaving Sporting to ply his trade in a more high-profile league, and he could be available for €40 million (£33.8 million) despite his release clause being €60 million (£50.6 million).

According to WhoScored.com’s Cristiano Acconci, Mario’s preference would be to move to the Premier League, which would give Chelsea the edge over Inter:

Able to play across the midfield, Mario could be another valuable addition to add strength to Chelsea’s spine, while he still has much room for improvement given his relative youth and inexperience.

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