Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes PFA Player of the Year N’Golo Kante has all the attributes to potential become the club’s next captain. 

The Italian masterminded the Blues epic triumph over London rivals Tottenham that booked their a place FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium in May.

Conte says he has now turned his attention to securing the 15 points needed to guarantee his side the Premier League title, starting with their upcoming clash against Southampton.

‘We must be proud, the players and the club. It wasn’t easy to have this type of season, to reach the final of the FA Cup and to fight for the possibility to win the title until the end,’ Conte told the Chelsea website.

‘We reached this only through our work. Work, work, work. It’s very important for me and the players to understand in the future that without this work it’s very difficult to have this type of situation.

‘But we must know that now we have had a good season. It will remain a good season but we want it to become a fantastic season, and the only way of doing that is by trying to win.’

N’Golo Kante has been a big part of the Blues success so far and he received recognition from his fellow players when he was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Conte says he is considering whether or not Kante could potentially be a captain in the future.

‘He’s a silent leader! N’Golo is young. He can improve in that aspect. When you arrive at a great team like Chelsea and it’s your first season, it’s very difficult to try to speak and lead, but I think he is a silent leader, a leader on the pitch with a good example.

‘He’s not the type of player who likes to speak. He’s not like John [Terry] for personality! With years he can improve in this aspect, and this award this season brings him a lot of confidence in himself,’ he concluded.

Chelsea will now welcome Southampton to Stamford Bridge when the two sides meet in the Premier League on Tuesday.

Kick-off has been set for 20:45.