N'Golo Kanté

N'Golo Kanté

N'Golo Kanté (French: [(ɛ)ŋɡolo kɑ̃te]; born 29 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the France national team. Kanté is widely considered one of the best midfielders in the world.

He made his senior professional debut with Boulogne in 2012, appearing as a substitute in one Ligue 2 match and played an entire season in the third division the following year. After that he joined League 2 side Caen on a free transfer, finished third and won promotion to the Ligue 1. He stayed with the club for one more year.

In 2015, he joined Leicester City for a fee worth £5.6 million and became an integral member of the club's first Premier League title. He was named Leicester City's Player of the Year in his first, and only, season at the club. The following year, he joined Chelsea for a fee worth £32 million and won the league; making him the first outfield player to win back-to-back English league titles, with different clubs, since Eric Cantona in 1992 and 1993. He has also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year award.

Kanté made his senior international debut for France in 2016 and was included in the squad that finished runners-up at the 2016 European Championship. In 2017 Kanté was named the French Player of the Year, a first for a player from the Premier League in seven years, and 12 months later was a key member of the 

Club career

Boulogne

Born in Paris to Malian parents, Kanté began his career at the age of eight at JS Suresnes in the western suburbs of the capital, remaining there for a decade. According to assistant manager Pierre Ville, Kanté remained outside the radar of big teams because of his small stature and selfless style of play. Through the contacts of Suresnes' president in 2010, he joined the reserve team of Boulogne. He made his professional debut in the last game of the Ligue 2 season on 18 May 2012, a 1–2 home defeat for his already relegated team to Monaco, replacing Virgile Reset for the final 11 minutes.

During the 2012–13 season, he played in the third-tier Championnat National, missing only one league game. On 10 August, he scored his first senior goal, the only one in a win over Luzenac at the Stade de la Libération, and he added two more over the campaign.

Kanté with Caen in 2013

Caen

In 2013, he joined Ligue 2 side Caen and played all 38 games in his first season as they came third in Ligue 2, earning them promotion to Ligue 1. In his second match on 9 August, he scored his first goal to equalise in a 2–1 win at Laval; he levelled again with his other goal of the campaign on 11 April 2014, in a 3–2 win at Istres.

The following season, Kanté played 37 games as Caen remained in the top flight; his one absence was suspension through being sent off in a 0–1 home loss to Rennes on 30 August. Three weeks earlier, he scored their first goal of the season in a 3–0 win at Evian. He recovered the ball more times over the season than any other player in Europe.

Leicester City

"When I first saw him [playing for French club Caen I thought 'is there two of him?'"

Steve Walsh

Kanté was scouted for Premier League club Leicester City by Steve Walsh, who had previously facilitated the transfers of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez to the team. On 3 August 2015, he joined Leicester on a four-year contract, for an undisclosed fee reported to be worth €8 million (£5.6 million).^[16][17] He made his debut five days later by replacing Vardy for the final eight minutes of a 4–2 home win over Sunderland. On 7 November, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 2–1 home win against Watford. He was identified as the successor to Esteban Cambiasso.

He earned much praise and many plaudits for his consistently impressive displays for Leicester, and was widely considered to be a major factor in the club's excellent form as they went on to win the 2015–16 Premier League, consistently making a high number of tackles and interceptions. In April, he was one of four Leicester players named in the PFA Team of the Year. By the end of the season, Kanté had managed 175 tackles (31 more than any other player) and 157 interceptions (15 more than any other player), topping the defensive stats at the end of the 2015–16 Premier League season.

Kanté was the only key member of the squad to leave the club in the summer of 2016. His departure proved a major factor in Leicester's sharp decline in form in the 2016–17 season, as the club was unable to find an equally skilled midfielder to replace him.

Chelsea

2016–17 season

Kanté playing for Chelsea in 2017

On 16 July 2016, Kanté signed for Chelsea for a reported fee of £32 million. After signing a five-year contract with the club, Kanté said: "I am so happy to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It’s a dream come true for me." According to Football Leaks, Kanté was offered a deal where a part of his salary would be transferred into an offshore account to avoid taxes. Kanté chose to refuse the deal, with his lawyer stating in an email: "N'golo is flexible, he simply wants a normal salary." Kanté was given the number 7 shirt, left vacant since the exit of Ramires in January.

On 15 August 2016, Kanté made his competitive debut in their season opener against West Ham United. Despite picking up a yellow card in the first three minutes of the game, he shone as the game went on, to help Chelsea to a 2–1 victory. Three months after his move to London, he faced his former side, Leicester City for the first time, and was Man of the Match in a 3–0 victory. On 23 October, he scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 4–0 home win against Manchester United.

On 26 December 2016, Kanté was named by L'Équipe as the world's sixth best footballer of 2016. On 13 March 2017, Kanté was named man of the match and scored the only goal in the 51st minute, in an FA Cup quarter-final win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. On 20 April, Kanté was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the second consecutive season. He was also later named the PFA Players' Player of the Year, the FWA Footballer of the Year, and the Premier League Player of the Season. Kanté become the first player since Eric Cantona in 1993 to win back‑to-back top-flight titles in England with two clubs.

2017–18 season

In October 2017, Kanté was nominated for the Ballon d'Or. He would go on to gain an FA Cup winners medal, appearing for the whole 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory over Manchester United in the final on 19 May 2018. BBC Sport awarded him the man of the match award.

2018–19 season

On 23 November 2018, Kanté signed a new five-year contract at Chelsea. On 24 January, he scored the first goal of Chelsea's 2–1 EFL Cup semi-final second leg win at home to Tottenham Hotspur. The score was tied 2–2 on aggregate at the end of 90 minutes, with Chelsea winning the shootout 4–2. Kanté scored on his 300th club appearance, a 2–2 home draw against Burnley on 22 April.

2019–20 season

On 11 August 2019, Kanté started the Premier League campaign from the bench as Chelsea suffered a 4–0 away defeat to Manchester United. He has been out for almost a month including missing the Champions League opener against Valencia because of ankle injury. On 22 September 2019, Kanté scored the only goal in a 1–2 loss against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. His first goal of the season was nominated for the Premier League Goal of the Month award along with his Chelsea teammate, Fikayo Tomori. Kanté marked his 150th Chelsea appearance with a goal against Manchester City, in a 1–2 away defeat on 23 November 2019. Later that month Kanté revealed he decided against moving to PSG and said, "‘Sometimes we do not necessarily know where we want to go, but we know what we have." He said he felt good in London and had faith in the project at Chelsea.

International career

Born to Malian parents, Kanté was approached by Mali ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations having not played for France in any of their age group teams. Kanté declined on the basis that he was still trying to establish himself in Ligue 1. Mali issued a further invitation to Kanté in January 2016, although he stated that he was still undecided about which national team to represent should he get an invite from France.

Kanté (right) playing against Argentina in the round-of-sixteen match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

On 17 March 2016, Kanté was selected for the France senior squad for the first time to face the Netherlands and Russia in friendlies. He made his debut against the former eight days later, replacing Lassana Diarra at half time in a 3–2 win at the Amsterdam Arena. On his 25th birthday, 29 March, he made his first start and scored to open a 4–2 win over Russia at the Stade de France; fellow birthday celebrant Dimitri Payet also scored.

On 10 June 2016, Kanté appeared in his first competitive match for France by starting the opening match of Euro 2016 against Romania; he played the entire match, made the most passes, the most tackles, the most interceptions, covered the most distance on the pitch and assisted Dimitri Payet's winning goal in a 2–1 victory. In the round of 16 match against the Republic of Ireland at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Kanté picked up a yellow card in the 27th minute (his second of Euro 2016 which would cause him to be suspended from the quarter-final) and was replaced with Kingsley Coman in the 46th minute with the French trailing 0–1 at half time. Kanté was unused in the final, which France lost 1–0 to Portugal after extra time.

On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He featured in all 7 matches for France in the tournament. He was awarded man-of-the-match against Denmark in the group stage and on 15 July, Kanté started in France's 4–2 win over Croatia in the final of the tournament.

Style of play

Kanté playing for Chelsea in 2016

A dynamic, diminutive and disciplined player, Kanté is known for his relentless energy and excellent ball-winning abilities as a box-to-box midfielder. This is attributed to his strong positional sense, off the ball movement, and ability to read the game. His game is considered as, or tasked with, doing the "dirty work," which includes running, fetching, and retrieving possession; to benefit team-mates so they can be put in goal scoring positions. He was a late bloomer and by the age of 21 had only made one senior appearance in the second tier of French football. He credits his calm and composed demeanor on the pitch to his gradual rise through three levels in the football league pyramid.

Although he is predominantly known for his tactical awareness, intelligence, and the defensive aspect of his game — namely his ability to tackle and regain possession, intercept passes, and block shots — he is also capable of playmaking from inside his own half and is an efficient passer on the counter-attack. He is also quick up and down the pitch and often makes late attacking runs. He made the most tackles in Europe's top leagues, in back-to-back seasons (14–15 and 15–16,) and in April 2016, Sir Alex Ferguson described him as the best player in the Premier League.

"Sometimes, when I'm on the pitch, I think I see him twice. One on the left, one on the right. I think we play with twins."

–Eden Hazard on Kanté

After his first senior goal, French regional newspaper La Voix du Nord likened Kanté to Claude Makélélé (in reference to his early days at Nantes), due to their similar playing style and defensive role in midfield. After asking the player if he considered Makélélé his role model, Kanté instead said that he admired Lassana Diarra. His World Cup winning midfield partner, Paul Pogba, said he could outrun an entire team of 11 players. His league-title winning manager, Claudio Ranieri, often joked about him having "batteries" and said: "One day, I’m going to see you cross the ball and then finish the cross with a header yourself." Off the pitch, Kanté's former Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte praised his work ethic and constant willingness to improve. Kanté has said he doesn't necessarily enjoy his role but the “satisfaction in recovering a ball, in protecting my team from an opponent’s attack,” is what keeps him going. In his first 150 Premier League appearances he totaled 92 wins, 28 losses and 10 goals. In five years, in the Premier League, he has yet to receive a red card.

Personal life

“My favorite thing is when we lift a trophy. Afterward, we can have a picture of us lifting a trophy. And that picture shows a lot of work, a lot of difficulty and a lot of sacrifice together. That is what it takes to lift a trophy. From one picture, I can have many memories.”

–N’Golo Kanté

He was born in Paris to Malian parents. Kanté's parents migrated to France from Mali, in 1980, and he grew up in a small flat in Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine. He is named after King Ngolo Diarra of the Bamana Empire. Kanté began his career at the age of eight at JS Suresnes in the western suburbs of the capital, remaining there for a decade. His younger sister too was in the youth system at Suresnes. He was rejected from the academy at Clairefontaine when he was during this time. Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Maradona were his favorite players growing up. At the age of 21, while playing for Boulogne, he earned a diploma in vocational accounting.

At the start of his professional career at Boulogne, he commuted to training on a kick scooter and as of 2018 drove a Mini Hatch — his first purchase in England because he found it easy to learn how to drive in. He is a Muslim. Kanté is aware of his public perception as a shy and private individual, but also said that stories about him by current and former teammates, like Jamie Vardy, were often exaggerated.

Kante's nickname is "NG" and outside of football he is an avid tennis fan, and player. One of his pet-peeves is when someone contradicts themself. He said his initiation song at Chelsea was a "stressful moment" and now his go-to karaoke song is Vegedream's "Ramenez La Coupe À La Maison," in which he has a verse dedicated to him. During his initiation at Chelsea, his team-mates said he was not loud enough. He said Michy Batshuayi, who transferred to the club in the same window, tried to get away with singing a "happy birthday" song. His favorite dish is Thieboudienne because of his mother's cooking.