Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has admitted he sees some of himself in new midfield signing N'Golo Kante.
Kante has trained with his new team-mates in Los Angeles and will be present when the Blues take on Real Madrid in Michigan, but is unlikely to play due to a lack of match fitness.
The Frenchman is the last player to join the tour in the United States having taken a holiday after Euro 2016 and Conte is looking forward to seeing him in action.
"In my career I had great stamina, [I was] a great runner," Conte said. "Also, I scored some goals. I hope N'Golo can improve in this situation. Maybe we are similar but I know N'Golo can become a fantastic midfielder and he can improve a lot.
"I’ve had conversations with him. I explained what I expect on the pitch and [that] he is an important player. He can become an important player for Chelsea in the midfield, in the same way as [Nemanja] Matic and [Cesc] Fabregas and the others. I’m pleased to have all the players here."
Chelsea beat Liverpool 1-0 in their first International Champions Cup game at the Rose Bowl and are enduring double training sessions almost every day as Conte seeks to implement a specific style of play.
Kante's first game for Chelsea will likely be against AC Milan on Thursday, with Conte admitting that despite his natural fitness he will not rush him back into the fold.
"For N'Golo, today was his first day training with us," he added. "He started to look at our idea of football and to understand our method.
"We are pleased to have N'Golo with us because he is a player who doesn’t speak a lot but he does his job. He’s a good guy, humble, with a great will to work. It’s very important to me, this.
"He’s in good physical condition, fantastic. He’s a runner. He has great stamina and endurance. He’s in good shape but we want to respect the time in the training session and put him in to play with us in the future."
Conte will face off against Zinedine Zidane for the first time as a manager having played alongside him for five years as a player with Juventus.
"Zidane is a good man," he said. "I know him very well and his family. I am pleased for him and his career. We played together at Juventus in midfield - me, [Didier] Deschamps, [Edgar] Davids and Zidane, a good midfield.
"It was fantastic for me. I remember the genius of the football. Me and Deschamps and Davids were running for Zidane but for us this was a great joy. We knew when the ball was in his possession anything could happen."
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