Chelsea have had a horde of legendary players adorning their famous blue strip, but N’Golo Kante might be the most influential player of the lot from recent times.
The French midfielder was the heart and soul of the last Chelsea team to win a Premier League title and was arguably the club’s best player in their surprise Champions League win in 2021.
While Kante’s journey with the club came to an end in 2023 with a move to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, the influence of the midfield maestro continues to be felt at Stamford Bridge.
It is rare for an active player to hold such an influence on his previous club, but Kante’s development into a world-class player at Chelsea appears to have inspired at least a couple of the Blues’ latest signings.
Chelsea’s summer signings laud N’Golo Kante as their favourite Blues player
With Chelsea investing heavily in youth, most of their recruits are too young to have seen much of John Terry, Frank Lampard, or Didier Drogba, who are more commonly associated with the club’s success than Kante.
However, in the mid-2010s, Kante was the standout midfielder in the Premier League, and his heroics at Chelsea earned him many a fan, with new Blues signings Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr amongst them.
Kante’s individual honours at Chelsea:
| Season | Award |
| 2016-17 | PFA Player’s Player of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season, FWA Footballer of the Year, PFA Team of the Year, Chelsea Players’ Player of the Year, French Player of the Year |
| 2017-18 | Chelsea Player of the Year, UEFA Team of the Year, FIFPro World XI |
| 2018-19 | UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season |
| 2020-21 | FIFPro World XI, UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season, UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season |
Essugo, signed from Sporting CP, is a highly rated midfielder who has drawn comparisons to Kante himself.
When quizzed about who his favourite Chelsea player was, at his official unveiling, the Portugal U21 star did not even have to think twice before naming Kante.
When Chelsea repeated the exercise a couple of days later with Mamadou Sarr, their latest defensive signing, the 19-year-old centre back also revealed Kante as his favourite Chelsea player of all time.
Whilst Kante’s influence couldn’t change Chelsea’s failure to sign Mike Maignan, it’s clear the French midfielder’s impact is still felt in West London.
Kante could face Chelsea at the Club World Cup
If transfer speculation is to be believed, there is a chance that the Champions League winner could face off against his former employers during the FIFA Club World Cup.
Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia’s only representative at the Club World Cup, are reportedly keen on securing Kante’s services for the tournament as they seek to leave an impression on the global stage.
Kante played a key part in helping Al-Ittihad usurp Al-Hilal from the top of the Saudi League standings and could join a midfield that already boasts Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic if the teams can reach an agreement for the move.
If the move goes through and Chelsea and Al-Hilal both make it to the later stages of the competition, a match-up pitting Kante against the Blues is a possibility to watch out for at the Club World Cup.