Chelsea's N'Golo Kante will win you the ball 800,000 times but he's no leader, says ex-Blue Frank Leboeuf

N’Golo Kante may be many things but Chelsea great Frank Leboeuf doubts whether he is a leader on the pitch.

The French midfielder has garnered even greater praise since his £32million move from champions Leicester to Stamford Bridge this summer and is on course to collect a second Premier League winners’ medal in 12 months.

Kante is also the overwhelming favourite to take home the league’s individual honours at the end of the season but it is not quite enough for former Blues defender Leboeuf.

Whilst the 49-year-old World Cup winner, who played for Chelsea between 1996 and 2001, has been impressed by Kante he doubts whether his French compatriot can ever be the “driver” rather than the “engine” of Antonio Conte’s side.

Leboeuf said: "Kante should clearly be in the France team, but I don't think he has the spirit of a boss.

"He is an incredible soldier, and a warrior, but he has neither the personality nor the calibre of a leader.

"He is Mr Essential at Chelsea in among all their big stars. Conte relies on him, but he has never given Kante the role of a boss on the field.

"Kante doesn't have a leader's style of play. He is not a Zinedine Zidane figure. He is timid and lacks the necessary scope. He is not even a leader when it comes to skill. The lad is vital to Chelsea, but he is not a boss as he is not a good talker.

"He is a lad who'll win you the ball 800,000 times every game. You can sum him up in one sentence. He is the engine, but not the driver."