Kante was Claudio Ranieri’s star player for Leicester and after one season at the King Power Stadium, the France global has left the club to join Chelsea by signing a five-year contract.
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Speaking at his news conference after Chelsea’s 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat at the hands of Rapid Vienna, Conte said: “I want to say Kante was a target and for this reason I’m very happy the club bought the player”.
Kante, who won the league title with Leicester City in his first season in English football, was among the most coveted footballers of the summer transfer window.
The midfielder becomes Antonio Conte’s second signing following the arrival of striker Michy Batshuayi from Marseille.
Leicester have confirmed they offered Kante a new deal before he went away with France to Euro 2016.
Mahrez, who was a key component in the Foxes’ unheralded title winning tilt last season, is barely 12 months into the three year deal he signed with the midlands side, which is thought to be worth £35k a week.
Conte prioritized the signing of a high-energy midfielder this summer, and Chelsea stepped up their interest in Kante after their pursuit of Radja Nainggolan was ended by the Belgian’s reluctance to leave Roma.
Ranieri will know that Kante will be hard to replace given his all-action performances in the Premier League over the previous year.
The club’s project and the coach’s speech have convinced me to join this new ambitious adventure.
The Frenchman was one of Leicester’s most important players last season, with his incredible stamina and vital defensive interceptions and ball recoveries proving to be the bedrock of the Foxes’ unprecedented success.
“For a player of his age he has already built up a wealth of experience and his exceptional quality will without doubt be a great addition to the team”.
“The physical aspect, strength aspect – I think it is a bit normal to meet these difficulties in this game but I don’t like to lose and it is the same for my players”.
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The Italian said: “We are talking with the club and we know that this team needs to reinforce”.
