Top 5 Underrated Players in the Premier League season thus far

#4 N\'golo Kante

Despite his diminutive stature, Kante stands head and shoulders above his competition

While there is no doubting the brilliance of the Leicester forwards, Mahrez and Vardy, it is unfortunate that so many of Leicester’s other spectacular performers have gone under the radar. One of these performers has been N’golo Kante, who arrived at the King Power Stadium from SM Caen for a reported fee of 5.6 million pounds.

Standing at a diminutive height of 5’6, not many expected him to be a success. But he has gradually become one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, a behind the scenes man for the Foxes. N’golo operates in the shadows, picking up the ball deep in midfield and feeding it up front, where the duo of Mahrez and Vardy can do the rest.

His ability to take the ball from the opposition and creating attacking plays are almost unparalleled. He has won 48% of his attempted tackles, the second highest in the league. He has made 75 interceptions thus far in the campaign, which has not been bested by any other Premier League player.

He’s created nineteen chances and has a pass accuracy of 82%, which are again, something the 24-year-old Frenchman can be proud of. A comparison can be drawn to Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin, who does the same sort of job; grinding it out and being the rock in the center of the field. Although Coquelin is considered more refined, he has a lot more Premier League experience than his compatriot, and N’golo Kante’s best years are still well ahead of him.

While there is little doubt that N’golo Kante’s antics will continue to be a large part of Leicester’s dream, there is also little doubt about the fact that his hard work will pay off and he will get the recognition he is due. Whether said recognition comes from the media or from a big Premier League club is up for debate.