Is N’Golo Kante the key to Premier League success? His astonishing points haul suggests so.
Kante played in all but one of Leicester's matches as they stormed to the Premier League title last season, winning by 10 points from Arsenal.
The only game he missed was the 2-2 home draw with West Brom in March - which was also the only game that the Foxes failed to win that month.
While ever-present Leicester players Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan and Marc Albrighton were involved in claiming more points than Kante, it's been a different story this season.
The France international's summer transfer from Leicester to Chelsea has coincided with a dramatic turnaround in fortunes for the two teams.
For while Chelsea were languishing in mid-table last season, they now sit top of the Premier League table with Kante starting in every one of their games in 2016/17.
Meanwhile, champions Leicester are struggling without their midfield dynamo and are just four points above the Premier League relegation zone.
It all means that since Kante came to England the two teams have picked up a combined 67 points in 55 games without him but a whopping 120 points in 53 games when he has featured.
That huge haul of points puts the 25-year-old well ahead of any other player in the Premier League in terms of points that he's helped to win in that time.
The next man on the list is Arsenal's Nacho Monreal with 101 points and his team-mate Mesut Ozil is a point further back.
A host of fellow Gunners as well as Tottenham trio Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris are also approaching a century of points over the past two seasons.
But if he stays fit, none are likely to catch Kante any time soon. Here's the current list…
Most points won in Premier League games played over the past two seasons
| Player | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| N'Golo Kante | 80 | 40 | 120 |
| Nacho Monreal | 70 | 31 | 101 |
| Mesut Ozil | 66 | 34 | 100 |
| Hector Bellerin | 70 | 27 | 97 |
| Petr Cech | 63 | 34 | 97 |
| Laurent Koscielny | 63 | 34 | 97 |
| Wes Morgan | 81 | 16 | 97 |
| Dele Alli | 67 | 29 | 96 |
| Eric Dier | 69 | 27 | 96 |
| Hugo Lloris | 70 | 26 | 96 |
| Marc Albrighton | 81 | 13 | 94 |
| Riyad Mahrez | 78 | 16 | 94 |
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