A tip from a USBCO friend
In 2010, the Boulogne leaders received a call from Jean-Claude Perinnelle, a longtime acquaintance. The latter wants to be insistent: He discovered a nugget which then evolves in the Paris region under the colors of Suresnes in the department of Hauts de Seine. President Jacques Wattez and his sports director Bruno Dupuis therefore hasten to meet the young N’Golo Kanté and the members of his family.
Never without his scooter
All those who crossed his path in Boulogne were marked by these character traits that are now the legend of Kanté: shyness, simplicity and kindness. Elodie Fourble, who was an executive assistant, remembers this period very precisely: “He didn’t have a license so he went up to the training center on the heights of Boulogne on a scooter.”
Launched into the deep end by Georges Tournay
N’Golo Kanté’s professional career only really got underway at the start of the 2012-13 season. In June 2012, Georges Tournay finds himself at the head of the first team which has just been demoted to National. The current head of Pôle Espoir de Liévin then decided to trust the young midfielder. And he won’t be disappointed.
Boulogne fails to keep it
Kanté flies over the championship and wins the title of best player of National at the end of the season. Unfortunately Boulogne will not succeed in keeping it. The player will take the direction of Stade Malherbe de Caen with whom he will discover Ligue 2 before obtaining the promotion to L1, before flying to the Premier League under the colors of Leicester then Chelsea.