Leicester City’s rise to the top of the Premier League table is nothing short of incredible.  Heading into the current campaign, the Foxes were picked to be relegated to the second tier of British soccer by many pundits.  The shocking turnaround from relegation prediction to title contenders is something that the Premier League has never seen before.  In a league where there are normally maybe four or five real contenders year in and year out, Leicester are bucking the trend.

The club’s dynamic duo of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez are surely a significant reason for their outstanding season.  Vardy leads the top flight in goals with 19 and Mahrez has arguably been the most complete player in the entire league on the season (alongside Mesut Özil).  The Algeria international has 14 goals and 10 assists during Premier League play on the campaign.

Manager Claudio Ranieri, who was appointed ahead of season’s start, certainly deserves credit for taking this Leicester team to different heights.  Not only as he gotten his tactics spot on throughout the season, but his first summer signing before the starting of the current campaign was then relatively unknown N’golo Kante.  Kante, a Parisian that previously played for Ligue 1 outfit Caen, was bought for £5.6 million by Leicester City.  The transfer now seems to be one of the signings of the season.

SEE MORE: Riyad Mahrez thumbs nose at England’s elite.

Despite turning 25 next month, Kante has never featured for the French national team at any level.  The late bloomer, however, would be included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year if the voting ended today.  While he is nowhere near the biggest player in the league (he stands at just 5’7”), the defensive midfielder makes up for his lack of height by being one of the more tenacious players in England.

At the current point of the season, Kante has registered more interceptions per league game (4.2) than any other player and is second only to Liverpool’s Lucas in successful tackles per match (4.2).  When matched up against fellow upper echelon defensive midfielders, Kante’s numbers are extremely impressive.

Kante Matic Fernandinho Wanyama Dier
Key Passes 19 13 20 9 8
Chances Created 22 13 21 10 9
Assists 3 0 1 1 1
Tackles 79 53 54 51 40
Interceptions 109 53 42 55 58

Kante is the crux of this Leicester City team.  He stops attacks from occurring and starts offensive opportunities deep in his own part of the pitch.  The Frenchman does all of the dirty work, while Mahrez and Vardy receive all of the accolades.  He is without of a doubt Leicester’s unsung hero.  Every successful team needs a player in the middle of the park to help out on both ends, and Leicester have the perfect player in Kante.  With many top clubs taking notice of Kante, it may be difficult for the Foxes to hold on to the midfielder passed the summer transfer period.