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Zouma: Soft-spoken Kante is incredible on the pitch

Cape Town - Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma has heaped the praise on N'Golo Kante, who has quickly become a favourite among the players and fans of the club.

Kante, who signed for Chelsea at the start of the season after winning the league with Leicester City, has made more tackles than anyone else in the Premier League over the last three seasons, despite playing in England for only 18 months.

The Frenchman put in another immense performance in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool recently, which drew playful jibes from his team-mates during their review of the game.

"He won 14 of 16 tackles, and the next-best in the game won three. The following day, during our video session, you could only see him. The guys said to him, 'You're doing it on purpose. Losing the ball so you can tackle and and win it back again.' We make fun of him, but it's because we love him, and that he impresses us," Zouma told L'Equipe.

"For me, he's been incredible in every game this season. Off the pitch, he's very simple, very timid, the others rarely hear his voice. He's not someone who'll come and talk, you have to go to him to hear his little voice. He's next to me in the dressing room, I often bother him, make fun of him a little bit. He makes me laugh so much.

"He's really funny. I like him a lot, and everyone loves him in the dressing room. When he scored against Manchester United, everyone was so happy for him and went to jump on him, pat him on the head. He's so timid, but so impressive on the pitch. He deserves everything he gets."

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