It was meant in jest but, in all reality, Gary Lineker absolutely nailed it.
The ex-Leicester striker was heartbroken when the lynchpin of his former side left the KP Stadium last summer to join Chelsea.
Having pulled the strings during Leicester’s fairytale season, N’Golo Kante has conjured similar magic during his debut season at Stamford Bridge, with his reliability earning him the honour of PFA Player of the Year and FWA Player of the Year.
Kante sat out Chelsea’s 1-0 victory over West Brom on Friday night, which delivered the Premier League trophy to Antonio Conte’s side.
But his work had already been done.
Eight months of intercepting, keeping possession and organising his side to an almost faultless level and N’Golo Kante finds himself a Premier League champion in consecutive seasons.
He might lack the flash of an Eden Hazard or the goals of a Diego Costa but N’Golo Kante wins.
It’s what he does.
And while Chelsea’s 10th-placed finish last term had few picking them for glory this time around, Lineker knew just what Kante was capable of.
On July 16, 2016, Lineker tweeted the below.
Inevitably Kanté has gone. Fancy Chelsea will now win the title. He's that good!
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 16, 2016
Talk about foresight.
