Football lovers who began watching the beautiful game during the mid 2010's would know how outstanding N'Golo Kanté was at Leicester City. For the average football fan, he's mostly known for his time at Chelsea and also his heroics for France at the national level. He notably won the Premier League and Champions League with the Blues, while the World Cup was also achieved with the French team. This article will look back at the early phase of his career, which saw him make history by helping Leicester City become Premier League Champions.
Humble beginnings
N'Golo Kanté was born to Malian parents in Paris, and he began his football career at age 8 with JS Suresnes in the West suburbs of the capital. He remained there for a decade. According to Pierre Ville, who was an assistant manager, top clubs passed on the chance to sign Kanté at the time due to his small stature and selfless style of play. The Frenchman was even rejected from the academy at Clairefontaine during this time. Kanté still kept on working hard though, and even scored 10 goals during his last season with Suresnes.
One of the most fascinating facts about his career is that legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger refused the opportunity to sign Kanté in 2010. The former Arsenal manager would've surely regretted that decision later on in life. The president of Suresnes was one of Wenger's best friends, and kept driving Kanté to visit different clubs at the time. He eventually joined the reserve team of Boulogne, and made his professional debut in the last game of the Ligue 2 season on 18th May 2012 against Monaco. This was followed by a move to Championnat National, where he played during the 2012–13 season.
The next chapter of Kanté's career took him to Ligue 2 side Caen in 2013, for whom he played all 38 games in his first season and helped them finish third to earn promotion to Ligue 1. He played another 37 games in the following season and Caen managed to stay in the French top-flight. Interestingly, Kanté ended the campaign as the player with most ball recoveries over the season than any other player in Europe.
The legendary season at Leicester City
Kanté signed for Leicester City On 3rd August 2015, for a fee over €8 million. He was discovered by English scout Steve Walsh, who had also discovered the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez. The French defensive midfielder made his Leicester City debut five days later by replacing Vardy for the final eight minutes of a 4–2 home win over Sunderland. Later on 7th November, Kanté scored his first Premier League goal in a 2-1 win over Watford.
By the time the season had finished, Leicester City had shocked the entire world by winning the Premier League. It was one of those unbelievable triumphs even their biggest fans wouldn't have bet their lives on. Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez took most of the spotlight for the success, but hardcore fans of the game all credited Kante as the most vital player of the team who helped them achieve eternal glory. His unbelievable work-rate, stamina, and excellence in aspects such as tackling and interceptions was widely applauded by fans and pundits. In April, Kanté was one of the four Leicester players named in the PFA Team of the Year. Another interesting fact was that Kanté finished the season with 175 tackles (31 more than any other player) and 157 interceptions (15 more than any other player), topping the 2015–16 Premier League defensive stats.
Kanté thus established himself as a superstar in his one and only season at Leicester City. He then made the move to Chelsea, where he went from superstar to an all-time legend of the modern game.
