Initial negotiations over an extension have been carried out with Kante and he wants a three-year extension commitment from Chelsea, whose previous regime was notoriously worried about awarding an aging player long contracts.
I do not think Chelsea will budge, they usually do not give players above thirty anything more than a year or two contract extension, and i don't think Kante's case will be different, but then there is a new management in charge like you said and we would see how they handle this situation, Kante has served the club very well since his move from Leicester, and a three-year extension might be no more than what he deserves. Having said that, i am pretty sure various other clubs will be monitoring this situation right now, and if there is a breakdown in negotiations, some of them will not fail to offer Kante a contract he might not be able to say no to.
Agree with what you said, he is one of the players who has an important role at Chelsea at the moment although indeed this season his role is still not visible but indeed he can be one of the players to be reckoned with when the team recovers.
Regardless of his age, he is actually quite reasonable when his contract duration is three years if this can be realized.