Sunday 28 August 2016 16:52, UK
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has played down comparisons between Daniel Amartey and N'Golo Kante.
Amartey came in as a replacement for the injured Nampalys Mendy in Leicester's 2-1 victory over Swansea on Saturday.
The Ghanaian's energetic performance earned high praise from pundits and fans alike, with many hailing him as the natural replacement for Kante, who joined Chelsea in a £30m move earlier this summer.
However, Ranieri has been quick to dismiss those claims, stating that Kante is irreplaceable.
"I don't want to speak of Kante. There is only one - there isn't another in the world. He has gone and now we need to move on," said Ranieri.
"But Amartey played very, very well. He now knows very well the Premier League. He can play centre-back, central midfielder, right-back, right winger and I am very pleased with him. He played very well, was solid, strong and recovered a lot of balls."
The Premier League title holders have been slow off the mark this season, losing their opening fixture against Hull before being held to a goalless draw against Arsenal.
Leicester defeated Swansea to earn their first win of the season, but Ranieri acknowledges more work needs to be done - especially between new forward pairing Jamie Vardy and Ahmed Musa, who came on as substitute after 75 mins.
"It is important that Musa understands how we play. The Russian league is very different from English football, they play a slower tempo. The English league is very fast," added Ranieri.
"He must increase his fitness and understanding. He can play together with Vardy."