Former Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is delighted with his move to Al-Ittihad.

Kante insists joining the Saudi Pro League club is no step down to what he would expect if he had remained in Europe this season.

In a pre-release for a feature with L'Equipe, Kante says he has been pleasantly surprised by the level of the Saudi championship.

For him, the matches between the five best Saudi teams have nothing to envy the best clubs in Ligue 1.

Kante has maintained a 100 per cent starting record in the SPL this season, despite his injury problems with Chelsea over the past two seasons.