Crucial Kante the common denominator

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante puts the grab on Arsenal for-ward Mesut Ozil during their English Premier League match at Stamford Bridge last Saturday. Kirsty Wigglesworth / Ap

Former Foxes enforcer now bolstering Blues

There's a link between the revival of the Premier League's champion-elect, Chelsea, and the demise of its beleaguered title holder, Leicester.

N'Golo Kante swapped Leicester for Chelsea for around $40 million in July, an offseason deal that barely caused a ripple compared to the media frenzy surrounding France teammate Paul Pogba's world-record transfer to Manchester United a few weeks later.

Yet the diminutive Kante - a 5-foot-6 force in midfield - is proving to be priceless as he closes in on a second English league title in as many seasons with different clubs, matching Eric Cantona's achievement with Leeds and Manchester United in 1992-93.

With his tackles, interceptions and ability to swiftly switch defense into attack, the 25-year-old Kante is the cornerstone of a Chelsea team that holds a nine-point lead with 14 games remaining, a season after finishing 10th.

Meanwhile, Leicester, the champion last season at odds of 5,000-1, is in a relegation fight without Kante running its midfield. The team is one point above the bottom three and in danger of becoming the first defending champion to go down in nearly 80 years.

Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri knew the significance of losing Kante.

"If Chelsea bought Kante, it's because he played as two players last season," Ranieri said. "The referee counted 11, but we were 12."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger knew it, too. He tried to sign Kante two years ago, when the midfielder was starring for Caen in France's Ligue 1 but was unheralded in the wider world.

Wenger made another attempt during the last offseason, and the fact he missed out twice clearly irks him.

"It's no coincidence they are in the position they are," he said of Chelsea. "Leicester was in that position last season."

According to Premier League statistics supplier Opta, Kante made more tackles (146) and interceptions (134) than any other player last season.

The previous campaign, he made more successful tackles than any other player in the French top flight.

He is third on the tackles-won column this term, behind Everton's Idrissa Gueye and Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, but there's still time to catch-up. After all, he won 14 tackles in a recent match against Liverpool, 11 more than any other player on the field at Anfield that night.

Blues boss Antonio Conte is trying to develop Kante into more than simply a midfield destroyer.

"His first pass is always horizontal and he needs to make that vertical," Conte said after Kante starred in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Arsenal last Saturday.

"I'm also working to improve him, for him to try to play forward. But he's a fantastic guy. He's so humble. That's very important."

Defensively, though, Kante is so important for Chelsea alongside midfielder Nemanja Matic. With the pair offering such great protection in front of him, maverick centerback David Luiz's defensive mishaps have been minimized and the flamboyant Brazilian, excellent on the ball and from set-pieces, has thrived as the "libero" at the heart of a back three.

Chelsea has conceded eight goals in 18 games since switching to a three-man defense in September.

At Leicester, center midfielder Danny Drinkwater looks like half the player without Kante alongside him, while centerbacks Robert Huth and Wes Morgan suddenly look more exposed. Leicester has conceded 41 goals already, five more than it did in all of last season.

With Eden Hazard and Diego Costa making Chelsea a potent attacking force, Conte knows Kante isn't the sole reason for his team's surge.

"If football is so simple, I'll try to keep him for our whole life in Chelsea," Conte said,

Yet, it's easy to argue that Kante is the most influential player in England right now.

Writing in his Daily Telegraph column last weekend, Manchester United great Ryan Giggs highlighted Kante's value and said he wished United had him.

"Kante hunts the ball down. He is so quick to cover space, get to the ball and make the tackle," the retired Giggs said.

"I have played against that kind of opponent over the years. They are always a nightmare."