Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri believes N'Golo Kante is better suited for the Foxes than current club Chelsea, but admits he's not surprised at the midfielder's early success at Stamford Bridge.
Kante spurned Leicester for a £30 million move to Antonio Conte's Blues last summer, and has been a fixture in the Chelsea midfield since arriving in London.
Kante, 25, was one of the key figures in Leicester's improbable run to the Premier League title last season and has seen his absence felt strongly this term as Ranieri's men currently sit just 15th in the table.
And Ranieri told the Telegraph that staying at the King Power Stadium would have given Kante a better stage to display his talents.
"I'm not surprised at how well he's done at Chelsea, but he could play better with us. Here he was better suited. He was our battery," Ranieri said ahead of the two clubs' clash on Saturday. "With N'Golo we played with 12 players and fortunately the referee never counted how many we had on the field.
"All the spotlight was on him here whereas at Chelsea there are so many champions. I hope our fans give him a warm reception because he was our champion. It's important to remember what he gave us."
The France international played just one season at Leicester before moving on to Chelsea. And Ranieri says he understood Kante's reasons for leaving the club so quickly.
"Of course I tried to keep him with all my strength but he said he wanted to go," said Ranieri.
"I could understand him, it's normal when a young boy has come from France, from a little team, improves and wins the title. It's human to go to a big club."