Antonio Conte had never heard of N’Golo Kanté until his rise to prominence with Leicester City last season, but now he believes the Chelsea player is “a complete midfielder”.
Asked whether he had been aware of Kanté before his move from Caen in August 2015, Conte said: “No, I must be honest.”
The France international, who was his second signing for Chelsea during the summer, has grown in influence recently and has played a prominent part in Chelsea’s upturn in Premier League form.
“I think he’s a complete midfielder, not only a defensive midfielder,” Conte said. “You can see in the last three league games that N’Golo could have scored three goals. Against Hull after Diego Costa had hit the post, against Leicester when there was a deflection, and then he scored against Manchester United.”
The latter, a fine solo effort, was Kanté’s first goal for Chelsea – meaning he has already matched his tally across 40 appearances for Leicester last season – and highlighted that he has uses beyond his indefatigable approach and his work on and off the ball in deeper positions.
“He’s a player that always arrives in the box, it’s fantastic,” Conte said. “He has fantastic stamina – also good technique, good positioning, a good personality.”
Kanté’s primary role in Conte’s setup, though, is to press opponents and his form in front of goal, while welcome, is a secondary concern. “He can play box to box, but I prefer to respect the position,” Conte said. “I like when N’Golo goes to press, and with this system I ask [the players] a lot to press, to go forward. I think N’Golo is very good at this.”
