Leicester City Manager Claudio Ranieri, otherwise known as “the tinkerman” is convinced the real reason for his clubs sublime form comes down to the work rate and hard working movements of one N’Golo Kante. Kante became one of Ranieri’s first buys in July after assistant Steve Walsh convinced the Italian to sign him. After a string of remarkable displays for the Foxes not only was Ranieri assured of Kante; he now thinks he could become a world-beater someday.
In a recent interview, Ranieri revealed under the right circumstances he is certain the young Malian can be one of world’s best midfielders. The Leicester manager believes Kante can progress to be the best enforcer in Europe. Ranieri said: “He can achieve this target. I think he can improve.”
The 24-year-old has impressed since a summer move from Caen with the Foxes currently sitting top of the Barclays Premier League. It is also without question Leicester are now legitimate contenders for the title after Monday night’s impressive win against Chelsea.
The stats, what’s more, back up this point. Last season in Ligue 1, Kante won the ball back more times than anyone else in the whole of Europe. This term, he has racked up 64 interceptions, leading the pack by 10 in the top flight.
Player | Number of interceptions |
---|---|
N’Golo Kante (Leicester) | 64 |
Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) | 54 |
Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) | 50 |
Kyle Walker (Tottenham) | 46 |
Claudio Yacob (WBA) | 45 |
Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) | 45 |
Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) | 42 |
Etienne Capoue (Watford) | 41 |
Ashley Williams (Swansea) | 41 |
Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa) | 41 |
The little enforcer from Caen looks to have been a bargain buy at £5.6m, and has even managed to keep the more popular and talented Switzerland international Gokhan Inler from cracking the starting lineup at the Liberty Stadium. So much has rightly been said about Jamie Vardy’s sensational scoring feats, as well as the impressive input of Riyad Mahrez, nonetheless Kante till now still goes unnoticed to most football fanatic outside of the city of Leicester.
Dubbed ‘The Rash’ by teammate Danny Drinkwater for his aggressive persistence, it is now apparent it will take some shaking and scrubbing from opponents of Leicester to rid this pest of a player from mobbing them on the pitch.
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