Kanté taking inspiration from serial winners Terry, Fàbregas, Pedro

N’Golo Kanté is an inspiration for all. But who does he take his own inspiration from?

As he tells Yahoo Sport France, he takes it from somewhat surprising sources, current and former teammates who all have one thing in common: they are serial winners.

“[When I was] young, I liked to watch Ronaldo, Maradona, Ronaldinho on the internet. I loved their moves, their goals, their behavior on the ball: I liked to watch these kinds of players. Today, I’m at Chelsea and I watch football less than when I was young. But to answer the question, I think of players with whom I played, like John Terry or Cesc Fàbregas and who always wanted to win everything. They are the players who inspire me, like Pedro who has won everything and is always there to win titles.”

Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup, World Cup, and countless individual awards — Kanté’s certainly no slouch in the winning department! And fortunately for us, he not only wants to continue adding to that record, he wants to do so in Chelsea colors, having recently committed his long-term future to the club while becoming Chelsea’s highest paid player ever. So sorry (not really), PSG!

“A lot of things are said [in transfer rumors] but it does not bother me, especially since I know what I want to do next. Despite what is said in the press, I do not pay attention. I’ve always done that: to do what I have to do with my club and see what happens next.”

“It’s always rewarding to be solicited by big clubs. When there are great coaches who see you in their project, to accomplish great things with their club, it’s nice but in the end, I try to see where I am and what I feel in my club. And today, I feel good in a club like Chelsea. I’m planning for the next seasons at Chelsea. I could have given a different sequel to my career, it is also good to have the choice but in the end, I’m happy with my choices and to be in Chelsea.”

-N’Golo Kanté; source: Yahoo Sport France via Google Translate

In the exclusive interview, Kanté also speaks about his role in Sarri’s 4-3-3, reiterating what he also said in other interviews, that he was happy to re-learn and adapt to a position that he had played earlier in his career.

Thanks to his injury dragging on longer than anticipated, we have yet to see how new head coach Frank Lampard will use N’Golo, but one thing is sure, he will be key to any further trophy aspirations we may have.