"I will always come short of good things to say" - Cesc Fabregas makes massive claim about ex-Chelsea teammate N'Golo Kante after EURO 2024 heroics
Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has waxed lyrical about his former Blues teammate N'Golo Kante following the Frenchman's Euro 2024 exploits. Kante has played a key role in Les Bleus going unbeaten in two games, winning one.
The 33-year-old has been one of the surprise inclusions in Didier Deschamps' 26- man squad but has vindicated his boss' trust with two impressive performances. A Maximilian Weber own goal was enough to give Deschamps' side victory in their opener against Austria before they drew goalless with the Netherlands on Friday (June 21).
Ahead of the stalemate with the Oranje, Fabregas had said about Kante (as per BBC via Metro):
‘He’s a fantastic. I will always come short of good things to say about N’Golo. I mean what a player. When he first came to Chelsea after winning the league with Leicester, tactically he was good, but we saw him more as a corrector.
"But the most important thing and most speical thing about him is the will to learn and the capacity to do it very fast and apply it on the pitch."
The Spaniard said about Kante's performance against Austria:
"This is typical N’Golo, recovering the ball, and, for me, he improved a lot at this. He shows how intelligent he is, recovering the ball and always playing forward one touch.
‘This gives you the change to get into transition very, very quickly. Other players take one too many touches and lose the moment. This (running back to catch an opposition player), there is not one player in the world who can do that so well and so many times to save their team. He is a diamond to have in the dressing room, really."
N'Golo Kante has two goals and an assist in 57 games for Les Bleus.
How N'Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas fared together at Chelsea?
Cesc Fabregas and N'Golo Kante played 79 games together for Chelsea between the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons. The duo played key roles for the club while on the pitch together but didn't record a joint goal celebration.
During their time together at Stamford Bridge, the duo won the Premier League, one FA Cup title (and one final) and the UEFA Europ League. They also helped the club to runner-up finishes in the EFL Cup and the FA Community Shield.
Last season, the Blues finished sixth in the Premier League - winning five straight league games - and also reached the EFL Cup final - losing 1-0 to Liverpool in extra time.