5 club legends who wouldn't make their club's current XI

#4 Michael Essien at Chelsea – due to N’Golo Kante

Michael Essien had quite a time at Chelsea

Most observers credit another Chelsea player – Claude Makelele – as the man who really brought the holding midfield position into vogue during his time at Stamford Bridge under Jose Mourinho, but it could be argued too that while Makelele was the original, Michael Essien was actually the best; an upgrade on Makelele who could also be used as a powerful box-to-box midfielder as well as simply a holding one.

At his peak, there were few midfielders better than Essien. The Ghanaian international had a tremendously tough tackle and was renowned for being a truly fearsome opponent.

N'Golo Kante represents the final evolution in the holding midfield position

Chelsea fans would consider him a Blues legend – but if he came around today he wouldn’t get into their current starting line-up. Why? Because the position has seen another upgrade in the form of Frenchman N’Golo Kante.

Kante was signed in the summer of 2016 after an incredible season with Leicester City – he helped the side win the Premier League in an all-time shocker and held the records for the most tackles and most interceptions across the season.

He cost Chelsea £32m, but that proved to be a bargain when he helped the Blues win the Premier League – becoming only the second player to win back-to-back titles with two different clubs – and he was named Player of the Season for 2016/17.

Kante is just as fearsome a holding midfielder as Essien was in his prime – if anything, he’s a more reliable tackler, not getting himself into hot water as much as Essien did with his hard-tackling style – but he’s better with his distribution, setting up many goals after stealing the ball away from the opposition.

He’s Chelsea’s key man and he represents the ultimate evolution in the holding midfield position.