He is known for his work rate and defensive acumen. Kante is widely regarded as one of the greatest defensive midfielders of his generation. 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.
After seven seasons with Chelsea, he left on a free transfer to Saudi club Al-Ittihad during the summer of He replaced Virgile Reset for the final 11 minutes. During the β13 season , he played in the third-tier Championnat National , missing only one league game. In , he joined Ligue 2 side Caen and played all 38 games in his first season as they came third in Ligue 2, earning them promotion to Ligue 1. In his second match on 9 August, he scored his first goal to equalise in a 2β1 win at Laval ; [ 18 ] he levelled again with his other goal of the campaign on 11 April , in a 3β2 win at Istres.
On 7 November, he scored his first Premier League goal, in a 2β1 home win against Watford. He earned much praise and many plaudits for his consistently impressive displays for Leicester, and was widely considered to be a major factor in the club's excellent form as they went on to win the β16 Premier League , consistently making a high number of tackles and interceptions.
Despite picking up a yellow card in the first three minutes of the game, he shone as the game went on, to help Chelsea to a 2β1 victory.
BBC Sport awarded him the man of the match award. He signed a new five-year contract at Chelsea on 23 November , making him Chelsea's highest-paid player.
