N'Golo Kante has been told “age is just a number” as the Chelsea midfielder eyes the missing trophy from his collection.
Kante, who is 31 next month, has won the World Cup and every domestic trophy going with Chelsea barring the Carabao Cup ahead of Sunday’s final with Liverpool.
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta, 32, who has enjoyed 10 years at Stamford Bridge, just completed the full set himself after winning the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.
Azpilicueta insists Kante is showing no signs of slowing down and says he will be driven by more glory - and his role in the team is more important than ever.
Azpilicueta said: “Age is just a number! It’s very important. I think now, with the time, you realise how difficult it is to win everything but it’s something I learned in Chelsea that every time you win a trophy, you want more and whatever you’ve done in the past is done.
“Of course, you have your moments to enjoy it but we’re not a club that we just sit down and enjoy what we have done in the past.
"We move really forwards, we want more trophies and we have the chance to win the Carabao.
“For N’Golo, it’s the last trophy he is missing and we are really hungry to win more trophies.
"Of course, the Club World Cup was very important because that chance does not come very often.
“But neither does playing at Wembley so we have to take it, even if for us it looks like it’s very normal because nearly every year we’re there. But it’s very difficult to get in these kind of finals.”
Azpilicueta has played with some great Chelsea midfielders down the years like Frank Lampard, but says Kante’s “importance” to the team never wanes - and he is still shocked at where he gets his energy from.
The Chelsea skipper added: “You know in midfield, of course I played with Frank Lampard and he was a completely different player and I think the important thing is that every player brings their qualities to the team, and I think N’Golo does this very well.
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“He’s intelligent, working for the team, he’s not just a player who runs, runs without seeing anything or communicating with the team.
"He’s always aware of the position, he always tries to cover as much ground as he can, but always in an intelligent way.
“We defend as a team and then when we have the chance he is up there.
"The energy he has in the last 20, 30 minutes, when everybody’s battery is dying, I think he gets re-energy from I don’t know where.”
