N’Golo Kante said a speech from Antonio Conte convinced him to swap Leicester City for Chelsea’s ‘new ambitious adventure’.
Kante was a vital part of Leicester’s success last season but passed up the opportunity of Champions League football with the Premier League champions to sign a five-year-deal with Chelsea, who finished well below the European places in 10th.
The 25-year-old, who completed his £32million move to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, took to social media to release a statement explaining the reasons behind his move to London and also thanked the players and staff of Leicester for his incredible first season in England.
‘At the beginning of the 2016-17 season, I chose to join Chelsea FC. It is a great club which has just recruited a great coach and want to reach high ambitions I share.’ Kante wrote in a statement.
‘The club’s project and the coach’s speech have convinced me to join this new ambitious adventure.’
‘This season I discovered the Premier League championship with FC Leicester.’
‘I want to thank the leaders, my team-mates and Claudio Ranieri for this fantastic season that saw us winning the title of England.’
— N'Golo Kanté (@nglkante) July 17, 2016
Kante joined Leicester from French outfit Caen last summer and quickly struck up an excellent partnership with Danny Drinkwater in the Foxes’ engine room.
The Frenchman’s reputation grew dramatically throughout last campaign and his performances for Leicester saw him earn a place France’s starting line-up for the European Championship, though he was sacrificed for Moussa Sissoko in the latter stages of the competition as Didier Deschamps’ men lost to Portugal in the final in Paris.
Kante thanked the people of France for their support throughout Euro 2016 and also expressed his condolences to the victims and families of those who were killed or injured in Nice on Thursday.
‘The 2015/2016 past season will remain as an important season for me as a football player.
‘After a fantastic season, It ended with a final of Euro 2016 with the French National team. We lost, but we can be proud.
‘Our team and the fervor of the French people have given us strength and I wanted to say THANK YOU ALL.
‘Of course it has to be appreciated according to the attack that struck in Nice in July 14th and I have at this point a sincere thought for all the victims and their families.’
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