Arsene Wenger full of praise for 'incredible' N'Golo Kante as France midfielder becomes latest Leicester City star linked with exit

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Arsene Wenger has fuelled speculation that he could be ready to try to lure N'Golo Kante to Arsenal this summer.

The Gunners already have a £20million offer on the table for Jamie Vardy - and Wenger has now expressed his admiration for the England striker's Leicester City team-mate. 

Midfielder Kante, who arrived unheralded from Caen at the King Power Stadium last summer, was the indefatigable driving force behind the Foxes' stunning Premier League title triumph. 

N'Golo Kante was perpetual motion personified in Leicester's title winning midfield

Kante (far right) on his toes training with France - but will the 25-year-old be tempted away from the Foxes?

'I admire and like N'Golo Kante a lot - it gives you ideas,' said Arsenal manager Wenger.

'He gives you the feeling that the higher the level he plays at, the more at ease he is. We are talking about numbers. He has the most interceptions in Europe - and by far.'

Kante's meteoric rise earned the 25-year-old a call up to France's Euro 2016 squad and he is expected to line-up against Romania in the competition's opening game on Friday.

Leicester supporters will be especially concerned to hear of Wenger lauding their dynamic midfielder, given the Paris-born player's four-year contract has a £20m release clause written into it - a similar provision to the one Vardy had incorporated into the fresh deal he penned with the club in February this year.

Kante's outstanding club form won him international honours with France, who he will represent at Euro 2016

Arsene Wenger has expressed his admiration for Kante, who would add dynamism to Arsenal's midfield

Wenger, talking to beIN Sports, for whom he is working as a pundit at the European Championship, expanded on his appreciation for the man who only made his international debut in March. 

'He has incredible quality,' said the 66-year-old. 'He feels the game, only very few people can do that. He's always where he needs to be. 

'It is very rare to have that in a central midfielder. Not always orthodox, but always in the right place.' 

When it comes to the now annual dissection of where Arsenal's latest title bid faltered, attention typically turns to a lack of power in the middle of the field.

Indeed, it wasn't until Francis Coquelin's surprise emergence as a regular in the Gunners' engine room midway through the 2014-15 campaign that Wenger came close to replacing the indomitable Patrick Vieira, who left north London for Juventus in 2005.

Kante, however, would add bite and mobility to a side craving those particular attributes.

But Arsenal's boss isn't the only observer who has taken notice of the player's explosive form.  He has reportedly attracted interest from Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain - and an eye-catching summer on international duty would surely see the list of suitors for Leicester's £5.6m signing expand further.

Any confirmed interest in Kante would present the champions with a crucial test of their resolve. The Foxes are battling to persuade Vardy to stay in the East Midlands, while this week it was suggested that winger Ryiad Mahrez could be tempted to quit the King Power if the club cannot cling on to its key performers.

Wenger is yet to replace Patrick Vieira, a three-time Premier League winner during nine years with Arsenal