Chelsea fans beg Kante to come back after scoring Saudi Pro League stunner

The Blues lost the midfielder in the summer after his contract expired and he became one of the first high-profile players to move to Saudi Arabia.

Along with Karim Benzema, Kante signed for Al Ittihad and the midfield star has already made a huge impact.

In a match against Al Fateh, the France international dazzled one defender with some fancy feet before bending a shot into the top corner.

Al Fateh goalkeeper Jacob Rinne stood motionless as Kante's effort hit the frame of the crossbar before going in as the ex-Chelsea star's new teammates mobbed him in celebration.

It turned out to be a crucial goal for Al Ittihad, too, as the strike ended up being the winner in a 2-1 victory for Nuno Espirito Santo's men.

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It also put Al Ittihad top of the Saudi Pro League, ahead of Neymar's Al Hilal, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr are languishing in sixth.

But Chelsea fans watched on through almost teary eyes with their once-immense midfielder tearing it up in Saudi Arabia while they are suffering from a major injury crisis that has ravaged their squad.

One fan said on X, formerly Twitter: "Bring him back to Chelsea."

Another wrote: "Deserved more time at chelsea. But then these days the club wants some random youngsters by looking at them in Football manager."

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A third said: "I knew we should have gambled Kante. Cause after the surgery I guess he would have stayed fit."

While another simply put: "Buy him back."

Kante was not the only big name to make the move to the Gulf state with several others joining him.

Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Jordan Henderson are among some of the names to also take the big contracts available.

As for Chelsea, their struggles from last season appear to have followed them into the new campaign with just one win so far in the Premier League.

They sit 14th in the table with five points from a possible 15 while they face Aston Villa next on Sunday.