London, May 21 (IANS): Close on the heels of winning the English Premier League (EPL) title with Chelsea, French midfielder N'Golo Kante was named Player of the Year by the football League on Sunday.

The diminutive player, who made a name for himself after winning the EPL with Leicester City last year, collected a third individual prize to a list of achievements this season that includes bagging a second consecutive league title.

Kante saw off competition from teammates Eden Hazard and Cesar Azpilicueta, Tottenham Hotspur trio Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen, Everton's Romelu Lukaku, and Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez to rack up the award.

"It's a huge honour to be named player of the year... and I want to thank everyone who voted for me,' Kante said in a statement.

"I work hard in training, I try to give my best and I work with so many very good players; that's why we won the league two times," Kante said.

"We played many good games but we won 5-0 against Everton, which was a very beautiful game, and also my goal against Manchester United (in a 4-0 win). It is always good to score and I am happy for these two games," the 26-year-old added.