Kante decision made ahead of Milan clash as Potter asked about Chelsea signing £52M star

According to latest reports, N’Golo Kante may not be ready to play against AC Milan but he is nearing a return to the pitch, Graham Potter said at the press conference ahead of the Champions League game.

“NG is training more and more, not fully, but getting closer. That’s really positive,” Chelsea’s head coach said, as per The Athletic.

“My focus is to help him rehabilitate in a good way so he is available for us. When he is on the pitch, he is a huge asset.”

Kante has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since August. This season, he’s only made two appearances for Chelsea before getting injured.

The Frenchman has been pictured in training with the Blues’ first team, but it’s clear that Chelsea will play it slow with him given his injury record.

Chelsea boss Graham Potter has refused to comment on reports claiming RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku has signed a pre-contract agreement

The former Brighton boss has reportedly been assured by owner Todd Boehly that he will be given plenty of time to implement his plans for the role.

And that has led to speculation in the media that Chelsea have been keen to secure the services of Nkunku after failing to sign the attacker during the summer transfer window – despite numerous offers

But now it seems that Chelsea have agreed to bring the player to the Premier League after it was claimed that he has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Blues

Recent reports in the media have claimed that Nkunku has now agreed to join Chelsea at the end of the season – and the Blues have agreed to pay RB Leipzig the £52 million that they have been desiring

Leipzig boss Marco Rose dismissed the rumours and now Potter, speaking at a press conference before facing AC Milan in the Champions League, has likewise refused to add anymore fuel to the speculation.

Asked if there was anything he could say about the Nkunku deal, Potter replied: ‘No, as I said before, my answer is I don’t speak about players that aren’t Chelsea players.

‘If you want to ask about any Chelsea players, I’m quite happy to speak about them.

‘But it was the same at Brighton. You get linked to a lot of players, and there’s a lot of names out there. And you can imagine it gets escalated when you’re at a club like Chelsea.

‘But I’ll speak about Chelsea players and not comment about anyone else.’