I want Leicester fans to clap for Kante – RanieriBy

Claudio Ranieri wants Leicester supporters to give N’Golo Kante a good reception when Chelsea visit on Tuesday.

Kante was the sole core member of Leicester’s Premier League title-winning side to depart in the summer when he joined Chelsea in a £32m deal.

Tuesday’s EFL Cup tie will see the France midfielder come up against old team-mates Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, both of whom signed new contracts with the champions rather than pursue moves elsewhere.

Ranieri said on the eve of the game: “I will give to him a very warm welcome back and I am sure also our fans they must appreciate what he did last season and give him a warm welcome.

“I will be very happy if our fans clap him at the beginning and afterwards he is an enemy.

“They must understand that when a big team arrives, it is difficult to say no. For this reason, I say thank you to Jamie Vardy and his family, and to Riyad when they decided to stay here. For us, it was important to maintain everybody.

“He was very important for us and I think he was even more important for us than at Chelsea because Chelsea have so many big players.”