Chelsea transfer news: Antonio Conte makes N'Golo Kante revelation 10 years on from Stamford Bridge arrival

Antonio Conte has suggested that Chelsea officials had doubts implicit signing N'Golo Kante successful 2016.

Between 2016 and the extremity of 2021, the midfielder established himself arsenic 1 of the champion successful his presumption successful the world.

As good arsenic winning Premier League titles with Leicester City and Chelsea, Kante lifted the Champions League trophy with the second and won the World Cup with France successful 2018.

However, speaking successful an interrogation with The Athletic, Conte has suggested that a script could person played retired wherever Kante did not marque the determination to Stamford Bridge.

Conte says Chelsea "asked maine 10 times" connected Kante transfer

Conte claims that Chelsea officials continuously asked him whether helium was definite connected signing Kante during his archetypal summertime astatine the club.

The Italian said: "That was a Premier League rubric we won arsenic underdogs.

“We hadn’t made immoderate large signings. We signed David Luiz,  Alonso and Kante — the nine asked maine 10 times if I was definite astir him.

"He wasn’t the emblematic Chelsea player: gangly and handsome. He was the benignant of bloke who, erstwhile you saw him, was just… well, erstwhile I archetypal saw him, I had a fewer doubts myself astir his physicality (laughs), but I was truthful convinced helium was a apical player."

Conte claims wherefore winning Premier League rubric is truthful difficult

Chelsea person not won a Premier League rubric since that season, erstwhile they accumulated 93 points. Their champion effort since past is simply a 74-point instrumentality successful 2021-22.

When asked connected wherefore it is truthful hard to triumph Premier League trophies, Conte added: "That’s wherefore hard enactment is important. Winning isn’t easy; it takes fatica. Not conscionable effort. But blood, sweat and tears.

"Some radical deliberation occurrence conscionable falls from the entity and lands successful your lap. But you person to spell retired determination and prehend it. Sitting astir and talking astir it doesn't marque it happen."

Conte has won 7 league titles with 5 antithetic clubs - Bari, Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Napoli - during his managerial career.