N’Golo Kante responds to Claude Makelele saying he isn’t an ‘exceptional’ player

Chelsea and France midfielder N’Golo Kante (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante insists he is happy to listen to any advice his compatriot Claude Makelele has to offer.

Kante has been a revelation since arriving in England in 2015, becoming the first player to win back-to-back titles with different clubs after following up his triumph with Leicester at Chelsea last season.

The 26-year-old was named the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year after flourishing under Antonio Conte for the Premier League champions.

But speaking earlier in the year, former Chelsea and France star Makelele said Kante needs to become more of a leader to be regarded as an ‘exceptional player’.

‘What I like about him is that he’s very generous,’ Makelele, who spent five years at Chelsea and earned 71 France caps, told SFR Sport.

Claude Makelele said Kante needed to work on his leadership skills (Picture: Getty)

‘He plays with a smile on his face, and that’s an exceptional quality. I really hope he has a better career than mine, but he still needs that leadership.

‘That doesn’t mean be a captain, but to have an aura within the team that when they look at him, they think “We’re going to win” or when he speaks to them, they go “You’re right”.

‘When he has that aura, he’ll be an exceptional player. That’s when he’ll become a regular for France.’

While it may seem harsh to suggest Kante lacks any attributes following his remarkable success in the Premier League, the player himself says he is grateful for any advice from figures such as Makelele.

Kante won successive titles at Leicester and Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

Asked about Makelele’s comments, Kante told the Premier League: ‘I think it’s good to listen to the advice of this type of player like Makelele, I need to listen and try to give my best.

‘But I cannot say I want to do what everyone wants me to do, but it’s good to listen to the advice of players like him and to the staff and manager at Chelsea.

‘I want to improve and I’m doing my best to improve so I listen and try to do it. If I do it, okay, but [I try] not to put too much pressure on it.’

Chelsea bounced back from their opening-day defeat against Burnley with an impressive victory over Tottenham last weekend.

The champions defeated Tottenham at Wembley last weekend (Picture: Getty)

One of the bright sparks for the Blues at Wembley was new signing Tiemoue Bakayoko, who provided an encouraging performance despite only recently recovering from a knee injury.

Kante insisted Bakayoko ‘did a great job’ for the team and hopes the former Monaco star can continue to progress at his new club.

‘It was his first game after a long injury – he did a great job, played for the team and he did well,’ Kante said. ‘Hopefully he can keep going this way.

‘He needs to understand how we work here, how we want to play, I think he’s going to be a very good player for Chelsea.’

Chelsea 2017/18 Fixtures

Everton (H) – Sun Aug 27

Leicester City (A) – Sat Sep 9

Arsenal (H) – Sun Sep 17

Stoke City (A) – Sat Sep 23
Man City (H) – Sat Sep 30

Crystal Palace (A) – Sat 14 Oct
Watford (H) – Mon 23 Oct

New signing Tiemoue Bakayoko impressed on debut (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea welcome Ronald Koeman’s Everton to Stamford Bridge on Saturday and Kante acknowledges the Toffees will provide a stern test.

‘Their team changed a little bit [over the summer], they are a good team and did well last season. It’s going to be a difficult game and we need to be ready for it,’ he added.