“To be honest, it’s been really good here,” Kanté said. “My arrival has gone very smoothly, without problems, so I’m feeling good. Everyone has made sure I feel welcome and feel at home.
“My English is still very basic, but there’s Adam [Crossley, Sports Science] who speaks French, I had spoken to him before I arrived at the Club, during my loan spell. During the tours, I spent some time with the French speakers, [Jean-Clair] Todibo, Max [Cornet], Malick [Diouf], Nayef [Aguerd], Alphonse [Areola]. Honestly, everything went well with them. They really made me feel welcome. It was a pleasure to have been made so welcome in such a short time.
“I was very happy to learn that I was part of the squad for both of the first team’s pre-season training camps. You can tell physically, it’s obviously a step up from Ligue 2, but I felt good. Day after day I felt my level getting higher, both technically and physically, just by playing with and watching the other pros.
“Everyone who loves football watches the Premier League. We know it’s a big league. In France it’s physical too, but here, it’s much more physical. It’s a different level, in the gym, on the pitch, there’s more distance covered. It takes time to adapt, but I feel like I did that well during pre-season and now I’m ready to take on the challenge of English football.
“With Paris FC last season it was a complicated situation. I was full-time with the first team, only training with them. I made a handful of matchday squads but I wasn’t making it on the pitch except for a few substitute cameos towards the end of the season. There were some really good players on the team and as a club we made the step up to Ligue 1. To be honest, I learnt so much with the first team, even if I only got minutes on the pitch towards the end of the season.”