Seven minutes of birthday boy N’Golo Kanté highlights

N’Golo Kanté turns the big 2-7 today, which is not only the worst starting hand in poker, but is often cited as the age most football players reach the peak of their abilities. Ballon d’Or, here we come!

Of course, whether Kanté ends up falling into the fat portion of that Bell curve remains to be seen — he’s an outlier in most other respects — but hopefully we have many many more years of midfield excellence to look forward to.

For now, as the adorable dynamo at the heart of Chelsea’s successes over the past couple seasons celebrates his 27th birthday, let’s celebrate alongside him with 7 minutes of glorious highlights.

Kanté may not be winning the Premier League for the first time in his three seasons in England, but he can still lift the FA Cup and help Chelsea finish in the top four to ensure Champions League participation for next season as well.

Happy Birthday, big little man!