Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has reportedly given the green light for the club to sell N'Golo Kante this summer in order to raise funds for Declan Rice.
The Blues are understood to have set their sights on the West Ham United midfielder, who could cost them as much as £80m to take their summer spending to more than £250m.
However, the club's hierarchy have told Lampard that he must first sell players in order to raise funds for Rice.
Football Insider claims that Lampard has identified Kante as one of the players he could offload and that he has told the Frenchman that he is free to leave the club.
Chelsea are expected to demand a fee of at least £60m for the 29-year-old, who was named the PFA Player and FWA Footballer of the Year in 2016-17.
Kante missed a large chunk of last season through injury, though, and speculation regarding his future at Stamford Bridge has steadily grown amid rumoured interest from Inter Milan.
Chelsea have been one of the most active clubs in this summer's transfer window, already bringing in Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Malang Sarr and Thiago Silva, with Kai Havertz expected to follow too.
Barney Corkhill
