Claudio Ranieri has revealed how N'Golo Kante was part of a two-man shortlist to fill in the gap vacated by Esteban Cambiasso at Leicester City.
The French midfielder, signed from Caen in 2015, ended up being a crucial player for the Foxes as they overcame near-impossible pre-season odds to win the Premier League title.
However, Ranieri admitted that, after Cambiasso left for Olympiacos and another international player turned Leicester down, it was up to him to make a decision between Kante and Jordy Clasie, then of Feyenoord.
The Italian told Sky Sports News: "We were looking at another international player to put there. We lost Cambiasso, who was the main man in the middle. He arranged everything and was an experienced player, who calmed the dressing room.
"I tried to keep Cambiasso here, but he said no, he wanted to go away. We wanted an international player, but this player didn't choose Leicester, he chose another country and another club, a big club. So in the end we had Kante and Clasie. [Assistant manager] Steve Walsh told me these two names.
"I watched Kante two or three times, and said Kante. At the start I put him on the left wing! Slowly I started with him there, but after I put him the middle. How can I not put him in the team?"
Kante is now playing for Chelsea, while Clasie ended up signing for Southampton.
Giuseppe Labellarte
