N’Golo Kante’s single season at Leicester City saw him become a key part of their unforgettable Premier League triumph.
Kante’s Arrival and Impact at Leicester
Leicester City’s 2015-16 Premier League title win was a shock. They’d been promoted back to the top flight two seasons earlier. They had occupied a relegation place for much of the 2014-15 season before a late run lifted them to 14th.
They started the following season as favourites to be relegated, but the 2015-16 season turned out to be a historic one. The Foxes ended up winning the Premier League by ten points.
One of their star performers throughout the 2015-16 season was defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante. His consistent, assured performances helped to keep their defence tight. Kante had only been signed the previous summer from the French club Caen for a reported £5.6 milion.
Chelsea Swoop After Title Win
In July 2016, Kante left Leicester after just one season. The pre-season relegation favourites ended 2015-16 as the champions of England, ten points clear of second-placed Arsenal. Having also played a starring role in the France team which reached the final of that summer’s European Championships, Chelsea stepped in with a bid of around £30 million for him, and the player left for Stamford Bridge.
Kante’s Chelsea Career and Move to Saudi Arabia
Kante would go on to play for Chelsea for seven years. Despite recurrent injury issues, he made almost 200 Premier League appearances for the club. He won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup before leaving for Saudi Arabia in 2021.
While Kante’s departure from The King Power Stadium was the highest-profile from that title-winning team, he hasn’t been the only Leicester City player to leave the club for Stamford Bridge in recent years. None of the others have been the success at Chelsea that he was.
Leicester City are fighting to avoid a second successive relegation, which would put them in the third tier for only the second time in their history, but it’s only been ten years since they were the masters of all they surveyed.