N’Golo Kanté is a French football player center midfield for Chelsea in the Premier League and the France national team. Kanté is largely regarded as one of the finest midfielders in the world, and he is renowned for his work ethic and defensive prowess. Kanté made his senior professional debut in 2022 with Boulogne, making one Ligue 2 appearance as a substitute, and then spent the next season in the third level. Following that, he signed a free transfer with Ligue 2 side Caen, where he finished third and was promoted to Ligue 1. N’Golo Kanté remained with the club for another year.
Kanté joined Leicester City for £5.6 million in 2015 and was instrumental in the club’s first Premier League title. N’Golo Kanté signed for Chelsea for £32 million the following year. He won the championship for the second time, becoming the first outfield player to win consecutive English league titles with separate teams since Eric Cantona in 1992 and 1993. He’s also received the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award and the FWA Footballer of the Year award, an FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Europa League.
N’Golo Kanté made his senior international debut for France in 2016 and was a member of the 2016 European Championship runner-up squad. Kanté was voted French Sportsman of the Year in 2017, the first time a player from the Premier League had won the award in seven years and was a crucial component of the 2018 FIFA World Cup-winning side twelve months later.
He participated in the third-tier Championnat National hat in the 2012–13 season, losing a single league game. He made his senior goal on August 10th, scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Luzenac at the Stade de la Libération, adding more goals throughout the season.
Caen
N’Golo Kanté joined Ligue 2 team, Caen, in 2013 and played all 38 matches in his debut season, helping them finish third in the league and win promotion to Ligue 1. On 9 August, N’Golo Kanté scored his opening goal of the season in a 2–1 win at Laval; on 11 April 2014, he equalized with his second goal of the season in a 3–2 victory at Istres.
Kanté played 37 matches the next season as Caen stayed in the top division, with his only absence being a suspension for getting sent off in a 0–1 home defeat to Rennes on August 30. He had scored their season’s opening goal three weeks prior in a 3–0 triumph over Evian. Throughout the season, he retrieved the ball more than any other sportsman in Europe.
Leicester City
Steve Walsh, who helped Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardyjoin Premier League club Leicester City, selected Kanté. Kanté signed a four-year agreement with Leicester on August 3, 2015, for an undisclosed amount of €8 million (£5.6 million). He made his entrance five days later, substituting Vardy for the last eight minutes of Sunderland’s 4–2 win at home. In a 2–1 home triumph against Watford on November 7, Kanté recorded his first Premier League goal.
He received a lot of acclaim and a lot of praises for his continuously strong performances for Leicester. He was widely regarded as a significant component in the club’s outstanding form as they left on to win the Premier League in 2015–16, constantly making a lot of interceptions and tackles interceptions. He was selected to the PFA Team of the Year in April, along with four other Leicester players. Kanté had topped the defensive metrics at the end of the 2015–16 Premier League season, with 175 tackles and 157 interceptions.
Chelsea
Kanté signed a five-year agreement with Chelsea on July 16, 2016, for a reported cost of £32 million. Arsenal reportedly pulled out of the agreement due to agency charges totaling more than £11 million, opting instead to acquire Granit Xhaka. Kanté received death threats due to disagreements over the distribution of agency fees, an allegation he afterwards disputed. Kanté was handed the number seven shirt, which had been empty since Ramires’ departure in January.
Kanté made his competitive debut against West Ham United in the team’s season opener on August 15, 2016. Despite receiving a yellow card in the first three minutes of the match, he continued to shine as Chelsea came away with a 2–1 victory. He played his previous club, Leicester City, for the first time three months after signing for Chelsea and was identified as the Man of the Match in a 3–0 triumph.
He recorded his first goal for Chelsea in a 4–0 home victory over Manchester United on October 23.Kanté was termed as the world’s sixth best footballer of 2016 by L’Équipe on December 26, 2016. Kanté was labelled as the man of the match in an FA Cup quarter-final win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on March 13, 2017, when he recorded the game’s only goal in the 51st minute.
Kanté was named to the PFA Team of the Year for two successive seasons on April 20. He went on to win the PFA Player of the Year award, the FWA Footballer of the Year award, and the Premier League Player of the Season award. He is the first player since Eric Cantona in 1993 to win back-to-back Premier League championships with two teams in England.
Kante’s Play Style
As a box-to-box midfielder in the center of the pitch, Kanté is noted for his unrelenting energy and strong ball-winning abilities. His outstanding positional sense, off-the-ball drive, and capacity to understand the game are all factors in his success. Kanté is best known for his tactical knowledge, intellectual ability, preparation, and defensive skills to tackle and maintain control, divert passes, and play defense. Kanté can also play midfielder from the inside and remains an effective passer on the counter-attack.
