Arsenal Transfer News: Arsene Wenger Comments on N'Golo Kante and Jamie Vardy

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted defeat in the race to land Leicester City star Jamie Vardy, but in the same breath, he has opened the door for a transfer of team-mate N'Golo Kante, claiming the Frenchman is wanted by “many clubs.”

As reported by BeIN Sports (h/t Daily Mirror's John Cross), Vardy turned down a £20 million move to north London in order to stay with the Foxes, a decision Wenger respects:

"

I think Leicester have made a statement and Vardy will stay. We were on the case and interested, but not more than that.

He has decided to stay at Leicester and good luck to him.

He came late to the game and in fairness Leicester bought him from Fleetwood and he has been successful. He is 29 and he has chosen to stay at Leicester. You have to respect that.

"

In the same interview, though, he praised star midfielder Kante and noted Leicester appear set to invest in a possible replacement for the Frenchman:

"

Kante is on the list of many clubs. It is an area where we have many players.

We will see what happens in the next two or three weeks. It looks like Leicester have bought a player from Nice [Nampalys Mendy] with similar qualities to Kante, so whether they envisage to lose him or not I don’t know.

If you ask 100 people in the street if they want Kante to play [for France] you will get 100 saying yes. He has done the job in one or two games and I am not surprised.

"

Per the Sun's Jim Sheridan, Vardy signed a four-year extension with the Foxes, and he's not expected to leave the club anytime soon. Kante has a release clause of just £25 million, however, and after a fantastic 2015-16 campaign, he'll likely be in high demand.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

The often-unheralded midfielder played a pivotal role in Leicester's run to the Premier League title and was rewarded with a spot on France's Euro 2016 squad. While he wasn't supposed to start, an injury to Lassana Diarra forced him into the starting XI, and he has looked excellent for Les Bleus since.

His fine form has led to plenty of speculation, and even the biggest clubs in Europe are said to be interested. Yahoo Sport UK's Andrew Gaffney believes Real Madrid's reported interest makes perfect sense:

Still just 25 years old, Kante stands out for his impressive work rate and incredible range on the pitch. The former Caen man won't wow fans with many highlight plays, but there are few better at winning the ugly battles in midfield and cleaning up in front of the defence.

It's an area where Arsenal have struggled the last few years, although the emergence of compatriot Francis Coquelin makes the position less of a need. Summer signing Granit Xhaka will also help out in that department, but he's at his best when focused on distributing, playing next to someone like Kante.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Coquelin is a fine player and an intriguing talent, but he's nowhere near the overall talent Kante is at this stage of his career. For a reported fee of just £25 million, the bruiser presents tremendous value, and the fact he's already proven in the Premier League only adds to the appeal.

Convincing him to leave Leicester may not be simple, however. He may feel the time is right for him to move to a bigger club, but the Foxes gave him the stage he needed to establish himself as a star player, and he might get only one chance to play UEFA Champions League football with the club.

Vardy showed the value of loyalty by signing a new deal with the Foxes, and it's possible the likes of Kante and Riyad Mahrez will follow suit. Teams will continue to eye Kante's release clause, however, so a move can't be ruled out until the transfer window shuts.

Follow @ReverschPass