Born in Sabadell, Province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Kanté only played lower league or amateur football in his country of birth initially,[2] representing CE Manresa, UE Rubí, AE Prat (all in his native region)[3][4] and Atlético Malagueño.

[6] In June 2014, Kanté signed with Cypriot First Division side AEK Larnaca FC,[7] where he shared teams with a host of compatriots.

[13] On 10 March, he moved to Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Kairat on a deal until December 2022,[14] but left four months after it expired.

[16] On 24 September, in his third appearance and first start in the Chinese Super League, he scored all of his team's goals in a 4–3 victory over leaders Wuhan Three Towns FC, which ended the opponent's 17-game unbeaten run since getting promoted the previous season.

[18] Of Guinean descent, Kanté opted to represent that nation even though he did not speak French nor any of the local dialects when he was first summoned by manager Kanfory Lappé Bangoura in November 2016.