N’Golo Kante: From Premier League glory to Christmas No1, a look at the Leicester and Chelsea man’s phenomenal 2016
French midfielder has spent six of the ten playing months top of the table as well as racking up an outrageous win record
2016 has been a year to forget to most of us, but for one footballer, it's been a 12-month dream.
N'Golo Kante has had more than most to shout about through the past year first with Leicester and then with Chelsea.
But just what has the French star achieved this calendar year to make 2016 so spectacular? We take a look at the numbers...
Keep up to date with ALL the Chelsea and Leicester news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary.
For starters of course, Kante got his hands on the most unlikely of Premier League titles back in May as Claudio Ranieri's Leicester beat Arsenal and Tottenham to top spot.
On top of that, of the ten playing months in the top flight this term, the Frenchman has found himself in the top spot for SIX of them.
Between January and May, Leicester were front-runners, while Antonio Conte's Chelsea - for whom Kante signed in a £30million deal in the summer - have been league leaders since November.
In light of the Blues' hot start, Kante is on for a special record in becoming only the sixth player to win the top flight in back-to-back seasons with different clubs.
Only Ralph Gaudie in the 19th century, Joe Clennell in the 1910s, Len Moorwood in the 1920, Eric Cantona in the 1990s and Owen Hargreaves most recently in the 00s can boast that achievement.
RELATED STORIES
Perhaps even more incredible is Kante's win record for the calendar year, having won an astounding 74 per cent of his Premier League matches.
Through 2016, the marauding French midfielder has turned out 35 times and won 26 of them, losing just three.
His win rate - so far of course with the Blues still having two games to play this year - is the seventh highest of all time, behind a host of Chelsea and Manchester United stars such as John Terry, Frank Lampard, Edwin van der Sar and Patrice Evra.
His tackling, ability to read the play and gain crucial interceptions as well as spread the play with his passing has been crucial all year.
It has never been more apparent than when Leicester took to the turf for the new season - still with 'main men' Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, but without Kante.
Suddenly the Foxes looked more like rabbits caught in headlights, as they defence has been brutally exposed without Kante there to act as a go-between from defence to midfield.
Above all that, Kante's Chelsea will be top at Christmas. They will also be top for the beginning of the New Year.
It begs the question: Just what could 2017 bring for him?