N'Golo Kanté

N'Golo Kanté

Kanté with Caen in 2014
Personal information
Full name N'Golo Kanté[1]
Date of birth (1991-03-29) 29 March 1991[2]
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 7
Youth career
1999–2010 JS Suresnes
2010–2011 Boulogne
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Boulogne 38 (3)
2013–2015 Caen 75 (4)
2015–2016 Leicester City 37 (1)
2016– Chelsea 13 (1)
National team‡
2016– France 13 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2016

N'Golo Kanté (born 29 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays for the English club Chelsea and the France national team as a defensive midfielder.

He made his senior debut at Boulogne and then spent two seasons at Caen, the latter in Ligue 1. In 2015, he signed for Leicester City for a fee of €8 million, winning the Premier League in his only season before signing for Chelsea.

Kanté made his senior international debut for France in 2016. He was included in their squad that finished runners-up at that year's European Championship.

Club career

Early career

Kanté was born in Mali and began his career at the age of eight for JS Suresnes, he remained at the club for 11 years.[3]

Boulogne

Kanté joined the reserve team of Boulogne in 2010. 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.[4]

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,[5] and he added two more over the campaign.

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 game on 9 August, he scored his first goal to equalise in a 2–1 win at Laval;[6] he levelled again with his other goal of the campaign on 11 April 2014, in a 3–2 win at Istres.[7]

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.[8] Three weeks earlier, he scored their first goal of the season in a 3–0 win at Evian.[9]

Leicester City

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.[10] On 3 August 2015, he joined Leicester on a four-year contract, for an undisclosed fee reported to be €8 million (£5.6 million).[11][12] He made his debut five days later by replacing Jamie Vardy for the final eight minutes of a 4–2 home win over Sunderland and scored his first Premier League goal against Watford in a 2–1 win at the King Power Stadium on 7 November.[13]

He earned much praise and many plaudits for his consistently impressive displays for Leicester City, and is widely considered to be a major factor in the club's excellent form in the 2015–16 season, consistently making a high number of tackles and interceptions.[14][15] In April, having made a season-record 149 tackles, he was one of four Leicester players named in the PFA Team of the Year.[16]

Chelsea

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."[17][18] Kanté was given the number 7 shirt, left vacant since the exit of Ramires in January.[19]

On 15 August 2016, Kanté made his competitive debut in their season opener against West Ham United. Although he picked up a yellow in the first three minutes of the game, he shone as the game went on, to help Chelsea to a 2–1 victory.[20] 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.[21] On 23 October, he scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 4–0 home win against Manchester United.[22] On 30 October, after the 2–0 victory against Southampton at St Mary's,[23] he is one of four outfield players to play every minute of the first ten games.[24]

International career

Everything looks simple and easy with [Kante]. And I know that it is not always easy, I have played in the same position. Sometimes, it is difficult. But N'Golo Kanté knows what he has to do and he does it well, very well, for the team. He can relaunch the game. I am happy for him. He is a discreet man, he is quiet but he is here. And he always smiles. In March, he showed already many qualities. I am not anxious. He has a fluent game. Everything he does is fluent.

“
”

— France manager Didier Deschamps praising Kanté after a warm-up game against Scotland in June 2016.[25]

Born to Malian parents, Kanté was approached by Mali ahead of the 2015 African 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.[26] Mali issued a further invitation to Kanté in January 2016,[27] although he stated that he was still undecided about which national team to represent should he get an invite from France.[28]

On 17 March 2016, Kanté was selected for the France senior squad for the first time to face the Netherlands and Russia in friendlies.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31]

On 10 June, 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.[32][33][34] In the last 16 against the Republic of Ireland at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, he was substituted for Kingsley Coman in the 46th minute with the French trailing 0–1 at half time, having already picked up a booking that would suspend him from the quarter-final.[35] Kanté was unused in the final, which France lost 1–0 to Portugal after extra time.[36]

Style of play

After his first senior goal, French regional newspaper La Voix du Nord likened Kanté to Claude Makélélé in his early days at FC Nantes. After asking the player if he considered Makélélé his role model, Kanté instead said that his was Lassana Diarra.[5]

During his title-winning season with Leicester City, Kanté led the Premier League in both tackles and pass interceptions.[37] Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that "Kanté is by far the best player in the league" during Leicester City's Premier League Championship run.[38]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 November 2016[39][40]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Boulogne 2011–12 Ligue 2 10000010
2012–13 CN 3732100394
Total 3832100404
Caen 2013–14 Ligue 2 3824110433
2014–15 Ligue 1 3721110393
Total 7545220826
Leicester City 2015–16 Premier League 3711020401
Chelsea 2016–17 Premier League 1310010141
Career total 1629834017412

International

As of match played 15 November 2016.
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 2016131
Total131

International goals

Scores and results list France's goal tally first.[41]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 29 March 2016 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France  Russia
1–0
4–2
Friendly

Honours

Club

Leicester City[42]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Premier League Player Profile N'Golo Kanté". Barclays Premier League. 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Ligue de Paris IDFF Twitter
  4. ↑ "US Boulogne vs. Monaco - 18 May 2012 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Ngolo Kanté fait souffler un vent de fraîcheur sur Boulogne" [N'Golo Kanté blows a wind of freshness on Boulogne]. La Voix du Nord (in French). 12 August 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Stade Lavallois : À Caen la victoire !" [Stade Lavallois: Victory to Caen!] (in French). La Mayenne, on adore !. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Le SM Caen remonte sur le podium de la Ligue 2" [SM Caen get back on the podium in Ligue 2] (in French). France 3. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Malherbe pas récompensé de ses efforts" [Malherbe not rewarded for their efforts]. Liberté (in French). 30 August 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "Evian-Caen (0-3)" (in French). Goal.com. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Percy, John (17 January 2016). "Arsenal raid Leicester for highly-rated scout who helped sign Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  11. ↑ "Leicester City: N'Golo Kante signs from Caen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Leicester sign N'Golo Kante from Caen but Charles Aranguiz not keen". ESPN FC. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Leicester City: Leicester beat Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "Jamie Carragher: Leicester's N'Golo Kante has impressed me more than Arsenal's Petr Cech". Daily Express. 1 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Hafez, Shamoon (23 January 2016). "Leicester 3-0 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "Kante Signs". Chelsea FC. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "N'Golo Kante seals £32m transfer from Leicester to Chelsea". Sky Sports. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  19. ↑ Rathborn, Jack (25 July 2016). "Chelsea have revealed N'Golo Kante's squad number". Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  20. ↑ "Chelsea 2-1 West Ham: Costa's late strike earns Conte's first Premier League win". BBC Sport. 15 August 2016.
  21. ↑ "Chelsea 3-0 Leicester City". BBC Sport. 15 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 23 October 2016.
  23. ↑ "Southampton 0-2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 30 October 2016.
  24. ↑ "N. Kante - Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  25. ↑ Blackwell, J. (6 June 2016). "Leicester City's N'Golo Kante praised by France boss Didier Deschamps and Juventus' Paul Pogba". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "N'Golo Kanté (Caen) pourrait choisir de représenter le Mali" [N'Golo Kanté (Caen) could choose to represent Mali]. L'Equipe (in French). Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  27. ↑ "N'Golo Kante: Mali make second approach to midfielder". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "Leicester's N'Golo Kante undecided over possible France, Mali call-ups". ESPN FC. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "Equipe de France : Ngolo Kanté et Dimitri Payet appelés par Didier Deschamps" [French Squad: Ngolo [sic] Kanté and Dimitri Payet called up by Didier Deschamps]. L'EQUIPE (in French). 17 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  30. ↑ Sharpe, James (25 March 2016). "Leicester City NEWS: N'Golo Kante makes France debut in win over Holland as Johan Cruyff remembered". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  31. ↑ "Birthday boys N'Golo Kante and Dimitri Payet help France to victory". Eurosport. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  32. ↑ "Payet stunner gives hosts France opening win". www.uefa.com. 10 June 2016.
  33. ↑ "Payet's late stunner helps France floor Romania.". 11 June 2016.
  34. ↑ "Leicester City star N'Golo Kante admits Euro 2016 will be tough after shining in France victory". Leicester Mercury. 11 June 2016.
  35. ↑ Adams, Tom (6 July 2016). "The Kante dilemma: Can Didier Deschamps solve his biggest problem?". Eurosport. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  36. ↑ "Euro 2016 Final Defeat For Kante's France". Leicester City F.C. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  37. ↑ http://www.espnfc.us/english-premier-league/story/2924644/ngolo-kante-should-count-for-two-players-leicesters-claudio-ranieri
  38. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/04/08/why-ngolo-kante-is-the-best-midfielder-in-the-premier-league/
  39. ↑ "N. KANTÉ". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  40. ↑ "N'Golo Kante". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  41. ↑ "N'Golo Kanté profile". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  42. ↑ N'Golo Kanté profile at Soccerway
  43. ↑ "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

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