Paris: There is a joke that has been doing the rounds in England for some time now, in which it’s claimed that while water covers 70 per cent of Earth, N’Golo Kante covers the rest.
The dynamic defensive midfielder’s response was typically humble. “It’s just football, my friends,” he wrote on Twitter . “There are more important things than covering the earth.”
Nevertheless, for Claudio Ranieri, Antonio Conte and Didier Deschamps, there were few more important players than the diminutive Frenchman in terms of their respective trophy triumphs in recent years.
Kante never seeks out the limelight but his success over the past three seasons — two Premier League titles and a World Cup — speak volumes about his status as the world’s best defensive midfielder.
A tenacious, intelligent and technically gifted player, he has proven himself as adept at winning the ball as distributing it.
However, the arrival of Maurizio Sarri as Chelsea boss represents a significant shift in Kante’s responsibilities, as he is now being asked to operate more in the final third; essentially, to also score goals and provide assists
A player renowned as a destroyer must now become a creator. And a finisher!
Kante’s scuffed strike in Chelsea’s win at Huddersfield just under a fortnight ago was his first Premier League goal since September 2017. It was such a surprise for Chelsea fans to see their No 7 hit the back of the net that they feared he might not remember how to celebrate!
Chelsea’s players, meanwhile, rushed to congratulate their beloved team-mate. Chief among them was new signing Jorginho, the £57 million man from Napoli who has essentially taken Kante’s deep-lying role away from him.
The Brazil-born Italy international is now operating at the base of the Blues midfield as his knowledge of Sarri’s methods from their time together at the Stadio San Paolo is pivotal to the team’s chances of quickly adapting to the demands of their new boss.
Chelsea have only played two games so far but there has already been a notable transformation in their game, and indeed Kante’s.
The World Cup-winner has already had four attempts on goal, whereas last season his average was 0.8 shots per game. The season before that it was only 0.7.
He is creating two chances per league game too, up from 0.6 during the title-winning season of two years ago.
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