Former England, Liverpool and Tottenham player Jamie Redknapp has named N’Golo Kante as the Premier League's player of the year so far this season.
The Frenchman signed for Chelsea from current champions Leicester City and has put in a string of remarkable performances to guide The Blues to the summit of the Premier League.
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Speaking with Sky Sports, Redknapp was asked about his best player of the year and he said, "It is quite an easy one this - N'Golo Kante - his performances at Leicester last season were just phenomenal."
"I have never seen a player cover so much ground and work so hard for his team, never waste a ball, and play with so much energy.
"You can see the impact he is now having at Chelsea - he has had some 2016. He did not cost that much money either, but what a player. A superstar," said Redknapp.
Many consider Diego Costa and Eden Hazard’s performances as the ones that have helped Chelsea go on this massive 11 game-winning streak, but Redknapp attributes their success to the little work-horse midfielder Kante.
Kante stats
The 25-year-old has performed spectacularly for the London club since his transfer and these are reflected in his statistics for the season. The French midfielder has an average WhoScored rating of 7.35 this season and out of 18 games played for Chelsea, Kante averages a phenomenal 3.1 tackles a game, 2.8 interceptions a game and making 0.1 blocks a game.
Apart from this he has also managed a goal against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea ran riot.
Kante on leaving Leicester City
Many Leicester fans were understandably disappointed to see Kante leave but the Frenchman in a rare interview, explained why he left for Chelsea: “The year I spent there, it’s going to stay in my mind. I always remember this day of May 2, 2016, we’re all together at Jamie’s house and see Chelsea play against Tottenham and it goes from 2-0 to 2-2 and we were champions.”
“At Leicester, we wanted to win and not lose and to fight for every minute. At Chelsea, it’s the same.
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“But the difference is Chelsea is a champion club, who have won everything and there are champion players. At Leicester for nearly everyone it was the first time.” said Kante.
Kante has made all the difference in an ailing midfield that could not perform well enough to defend the league title last season. The diminutive Frenchman has formed a formidable partnership with Nemanja Matic and more recently with Cesc Fabregas to win the midfield battle for The Blues in most games this season.
