Kante salutes Chelsea’s ‘beautiful squad’ as summer recruits no longer feel like new boys

N’Golo Kante has paid tribute to Chelsea’s “beautiful squad”, with the World Cup winner saying summer recruits already feel like established parts of the fold.

Frank Lampard, after two windows of little activity on the recruitment front, invested heavily in fresh faces as Roman Abramovich dusted off the cheque book in west London.

Chelsea bolstered their ranks all over the field, with every department seeing reinforcements added.

There is now more depth and competition for places at Stamford Bridge, which is helping to raise collective standards.

Kante, who finds himself back in a favoured holding midfield role this term, is among those to have welcomed the flurry of transfer activity.

He believes that Chelsea now boast the options required to compete for more major honours, with new additions such as Edouard Mendy, Thiago Silva, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner slotting seamlessly into the fold.

“For sure we have a beautiful squad,” the France international told the Blues’ official website.

“Everyone is involved. As players we know what is required to be part of the starting 11 and on the bench, because many players have shown that even with less time they play very well. It’s for the manager to decide but as soon as we are on the pitch, we try to give the best for the club.

“We had some new players coming in this season and so far they are doing very well. They feel good and we feel good with them. Now they are part of the team we don’t see them as new players because everyone is in a good mood and has the desire to do well for the club.”

Kante added on Chelsea’s quest for silverware: “This season there are a lot of teams at the top of the table with not many points difference.

“It means this season is open for everyone so it’s good for us to keep up in this part of the table. We are in a good position but this season is still young.”

Chelsea sit third in the table as things stand, two points back on Liverpool and Tottenham.

They have gone unbeaten through 13 games in all competitions, and had 13 different players get their name on the score sheet.

Kante, who has never been prolific, is yet to add his name to that list, but the humble 29-year-old is happy for others to steal the spotlight.

He said: “This season I didn’t have many chances to score, but as long as the team keeps scoring and keeps winning and taking points, it’s okay for me not to score.

“It’s a good sign for us that the goals can come from many different players. But the most important is the result and we are happy to do well. If the goals come from one player or another it’s not the most important.”

Chelsea edged past Leeds 3-1 in their last outing and have continental and domestic outings against Krasnodar and Everton to take in this week.