N'Golo Kanté

N'Golo Kanté (born 29 March 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the France national team. Regarded as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of his generation, he is known for his stamina and work-rate on the pitch.

Kanté made his senior professional debut with Boulogne in 2012, appearing as a substitute in one Ligue 2 match, and played an entire season in the third division the following year. After that he joined Ligue 2 side Caen on a free transfer, finished third and won promotion to Ligue 1. He stayed with the club for one more year, where he helped lead the team to a mid-table finish. In 2015, Kanté joined Leicester City for a fee worth £5.6 million.

Kanté was an integral part of the Leicester City team that were surprise Premier League champions in 2016. The following year, he joined Chelsea for a fee worth £32 million and again won the league, making him the first outfield player to win consecutive English league titles with different clubs since Eric Cantona in 1992 and 1993. With Chelsea he won the FA Cup, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. After seven seasons with Chelsea, he left on a free transfer to Saudi club Al-Ittihad during the summer of 2023.