Club historian John Hutchinson continues his review of the careers of the 100 most important players to represent Leicester Fosse and Leicester City in the club’s 140-year history. The streak continues with N’Golo Kanté, one of the best midfielders of his generation..
Kanté’s only season at Leicester City was 2015/16, when the Foxes memorably became Premier League champions, but he will go down in history as one of the club’s greatest players.
His box-to-box game is characterized by relentless energy, effective tackling, initiation of counter-attacks and tactical awareness. His ability to disrupt opponents’ possession was phenomenal. Such was his energy and work output that City’s head of recruitment, Steve Walsh, said Leicester’s midfield consisted of Danny Drinkwater in the middle and Kante either side. His career began at Boulogne, playing in 2011/12. for a second tier club in 2008 when they were relegated.
In the following season, he was almost always present in the third part. He then spent two seasons at Caen, winning promotion to Ligue 1 in 2013/14 and helping the club to the top flight in 2014/15.On Walsh’s advice, new Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri signed N’Golo for £5.6m in August 2015.Expand image.
His consistently impressive displays this season were a key factor in City becoming Premier League champions. He made 175 saves (31 more than any other Premier League player) and 157 interceptions (15 more than anyone else). Legendary former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described him as the best player in the Premier League. With Leicester closing in on the title, N’Golo made his France debut in March 2016 and went on to win seven more games before joining Chelsea in July 2016 for a £32m fee.His achievements during one season at Leicester earned him a number of awards.
He was named in both the PFA and Premier League Teams of the Year. He was Leicester’s Player of the Year and one of three City players nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award. At Chelsea, he won the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and FIFA Club World Cup.
He was part of the French team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Nations League. He has also won several personal awards, including France’s highest decoration, the Legion of Honor. He is currently playing in the Saudi Arabian Pro League after signing a contract with Al-Ittihad in July 2023.
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