Sarri and the N'Golo Kante dilemma

After protracted negotiations with Napoli, Chelsea finally got their man. Italian tactician Maurizio Sarri, who led the Partenopei on the cusp of a Serie A title, had arrived in England with an excellent reputation to boot.

With Christmas a month away and his side having suffered their first defeat of the campaign this past weekend, it appears as though the 55-year-old has his first major dilemma to deal with - effectively combining Jorginho and N'Golo Kanté in midfield.

Jorginho has settled quickly in England's top-flight and justified his quality with a fantastic passing range, as well as the ability to orchestrate attacks from deep. However for all his strengths, he struggles with the defensive side of his game. This weakness was seriously exposed during Spurs' 3-1 win on Saturday.

Kanté meanwhile, signed a new deal at the club last week and is arguably the world's best defensive midfielder. Sarri's preference for a 4-3-3 formation has forced the World Cup winner further forward to play in a trio, rather than deeper to protect his backline.

Why is Kanté's change in midfield role a problem?

This move has seen Chelsea play through Jorginho in transition, while keeping Kanté further forward. However, N'Golo is not as comfortable in the final third and despite his eagerness to continuously improve, he's not suited there.

During Saturday's loss, this was perfectly illustrated with Son Heung-Min's individual run and solo goal. Kanté was the most advanced player while the Blues relinquished possession and Dele Alli picked out a pass for Son down the flank.

As evidenced by this picture, Kante is far forward and not in his usual defensive-orientated position

Jorginho was outpaced and outmaneuvered, although David Luiz did him no favours with his positioning and questionable decision-making when attempting to tackle a marauding Son.

Son left Jorginho and Luiz for dead before slotting home to gift Spurs a 3-0 lead

Picking up the pieces as Chelsea's backline exposed

It's not unreasonable to say that if N'Golo was in Jorginho's position there, he would have done better to stop Son from shooting completely. His career reputation and recognition among Europe's elite has been built by an ability to see and snuff out danger with tireless repetition and efficiency.

He topped the league charts for both tackles and interceptions during Leicester's title-winning season and after Jorginho's disappointing display this past weekend, there's no reason why more teams will not look to exploit his weaknesses.

So only time will tell as to whether Sarri decides to change his formation and revert Kanté back into a deeper role, where he flourishes. It means Jorginho's position would have to be adapted too, especially as opponents will look to actively press him into either losing possession or not getting on the ball at all.