N'Golo Kante lifts the lid on his incredible fitness & reveals his idols

Chelsea's N’Golo Kante has said that the secret to his seemingly endless energy supplies is simply ‘game management’ and careful planning to allow for suitable recovery time between matches.

Kante has built a reputation on his incredible stamina ever since arriving in the Premier League at Leicester in 2015. His marathon-esque fitness underpinned the Foxes’ fairytale title win, while he has had a similar effect on Chelsea and in the France national team, with whom he won the World Cup.

“Of course I get tired. During a match, there are periods of time when you’re strong and periods of time when you’re weaker. During the weaker moments, you have to try and recover. Sometimes, you don’t recover, but it’s about game management,” Kante told Chelsea’s official website.

"Even if you’re tired, sometimes, you just have to go for it and make a difference going forward. In particular, sometimes, to keep the score as it is. So, sometimes you’re tired, but it’s all about mentality,” he added.

“Over the course of the season, along with the club and the staff, you try to manage match schedules. That is, thinking about how best to train to ensure we’re ready for matches. Sometimes you have to extend recovery times to avoid injuries and be able to give your all in every match.”

Kante has been one of the best defensive midfielders in the world for more than five years and two of the players who have inspired him during his career also played for Chelsea in the past.

He named Claude Makelele, a two-time Premier League title winner and a current technical adviser at Chelsea, and Lassana Diarra, who went on to play for Arsenal, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, as two of his personal idols.

“I met Lassana Diarra the first time I got called up to the French national team. I was lucky enough to play with him and see what a great player he was,” Kante explained.

“And also Claude, who is with us at Chelsea. I mainly get the instructions from my manager, to organise the team, to give our very best for the team, but it’s true that I have had some chats with Claude since I came to Chelsea.”

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