3) N’Golo Kante – Chelsea
When Leicester City marched to the Premier League title with only three losses, it was labelled the greatest sporting achievement of all time. After all, how many teams win the title with 5000/1 odds?
And at the centre of it all was Claudio Ranieri’s primary weapon – N’Golo Kante. The Foxes played with a 4-4-2 formation but in reality, it seemed like a 4-5-2. As the club’s head of recruitment, Steve Walsh, explained: “We play with Danny Drinkwater in the middle and with Kante either side.”
Kante’s energy and pace allowed the Foxes to close down their opponents before they could build up attacks. Once Kante had won the ball back, the Foxes poured forward in numbers as counter-attacking goals became the norm.
But his £30m move to Chelsea has not gone according to plan just yet. As Antonio Conte struggles to find the right midfield combination, Kante has struggled to reach the heights of last season. At Leicester, he averaged 4.7 tackles and 4.2 interceptions per game. At Stamford Bridge, those numbers have fallen to 3.5 tackles and an alarming 1.8 interceptions per game.
The consecutive losses to Liverpool and Arsenal have both exposed Chelsea’s midfield woes. They afford their opponents too much space and Kante’s positioning has been questioned.
It’s not too late for Kante to find the same form that saw him win a Player of the Year nomination, though. But Conte needs to find a solution fast with none of Kante, Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas or Oscar convincing so far this season.
