N’Golo Kante is confident his partnership with Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko is moving in the right direction.

Bakayoko arrived from Monaco this summer as the man to come into the heart of Chelsea’s midfield alongside Kante.

The midfield pair suffered disappointment on Saturday as they and Chelsea lost 1-0 to Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

But, Kante is excited by Bakayoko’s introduction and believes they are close to becoming a formidable duo.

‘Game after game, we are becoming more confident together,’ Kante told SFR Sport.

‘We are trying to produce what the coach wants us to and things are working quite well.

‘Today, it was a slightly more difficult match, in big matches sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

‘But we will continue and it is encouraging for the future… It is a shame that he has not been called up for France.

‘There we are looking to qualify, hopefully we can pull that off.’

Bakayoko missed the start of the season through injury, but has started the last four games in a row for Chelsea in all competitions.

Kante became the first player in Premier League history last season to win back-to-back titles with different clubs.

Antonio Conte is hopeful the French pair can become the backbone of his Chelsea side.

But, the hunt for consecutive titles took a hit on Saturday as City earned an excellent away win in London.

The Blues remain in contention, however, despite being six points off the top of the table.