Chelsea star N'Golo Kante's future is 'starting to become a cause for concern' as he nears the end of his Stamford Bridge contract, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs has told GIVEMESPORT.

Although the Blues are close to unveiling Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach, the Argentinian may not be able to call upon the combative midfielder next season.

Chelsea transfer news - N'Golo Kante

According to respected journalist Gerard Romero, Kante's representatives have offered his services to Barcelona.

Speaking on his Twitch channel, Romero suggests the France international has moved back onto the Camp Nou outfit's radar and is being viewed as a potential option to replace Sergio Busquets, who will leave his boyhood club in the summer.

It is understood that Barcelona director Mateu Alemany has been pushing to sign Kante for a number of months, with the La Liga giants looking to take advantage of his contract situation.

The 32-year-old's £290,000-per-week Chelsea deal is due to expire at the end of June, leading to question marks over where his long-term future lies.

Transfer insider Dean Jones recently told GIVEMESPORT it is unlikely that Kante will join Arsenal after the north Londoners emerged as suitors.

What has Ben Jacobs said about Kante?

Jacobs understands that Chelsea are increasingly worried that Kante will move onto pastures new after failing to pen a new contract.

The journalist is aware that the Blues do not want the former Leicester City man to walk away from Stamford Bridge as a free agent.

Jacobs told GIVEMESPORT: "N'Golo Kante has kind of oscillated between not wanting to stay at Chelsea to possibly signing a new deal.

"Chelsea would be really disappointed to lose him, but it's starting to become a cause for concern. That's not an outgoing that Chelsea particularly want, nor have they tried to manufacture. If he leaves, they wouldn't make any money from it."

Is Kante likely to sign a new contract?

It appears that Kante is keen to remain on Chelsea's books as, in an interview with Sky Sports, he claimed the Blues have 'an exciting project'.

The 2018 World Cup winner is happy at Stamford Bridge and, although there has not been a breakthrough in discussions and the Blues need to trim their squad, there is confidence that they can offload other stars in the summer window to raise the required funds within the wage bill.

Kante's preference to stay will be music to Chelsea's ears as he has been a key man since completing a £30million switch in 2016.

But keeping the Frenchman, who has made close to 230 Premier League appearances, on board is not a foregone conclusion.

That is because it emerged that Kante was close to signing a three-year contract in February, but he did not put pen-to-paper.