Football
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Chelsea's N'Golo Kante will let his football speak for him - Antonio Conte

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has praised new signing N'Golo Kante for his reserved personality, and has backed the France international to be a "fantastic" midfielder for the squad.

Kante left Premier League champions Leicester City for a £30 million move to Stamford Bridge earlier this month.

The former Caen midfielder has impressed new boss Conte during preseason training sessions, leaving the Italian convinced the 25-year-old will play a major role in his side this season. 

"We are very happy to have N'Golo with us because he is a player who does not speak a lot, but just does his job," Conte told reporters ahead of Chelsea's International Champions Cup match with Real Madrid (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) on Saturday.

"He is a good guy, very humble and very keen to work hard, which is important to me. I have had a conversation with him to explain what I expect from him and he can become an important player in midfield, just like [Cesc] Fabregas, [Nemanja] Matic and the others.

"He is in great shape physically. He is a player who keeps on running, someone who has great stamina and endurance. The people who know him better have all told me he has a fantastic attitude and a lot of energy.

"He does not talk a lot, but acts instead. It is not necessary for him to talk a lot. I think he might be a bit shy. I just need a few players who do the talking during the game. He just arrived at a new club and still needs to find his feet a bit. N'Golo can become a fantastic midfielder. He can still improve, maybe he can score a bit more."

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