Under Sarri's game plan, N'Golo Kante still needs more adaptation

Maurizio Sarri brought many changes in Chelsea's game plan. One of them was to change N'Golo Kante's position. Under Sarri's game plan, Kante plays as a central midfielder. So, this French footballer must focus on both attacking and defending. He also plays more forward and must involve himself to create chances to score a goal.

Before Sarri came to Chelsea, Kante played as a defensive midfielder. He also plays this role in the French national team. Because he plays a defensive midfielder, his focus is to defend. When needed, he joins attacking. The Italian coach put Kante in central midfield while Jorghino plays as a defensive midfielder.

Undeniably, Kante is a tough defensive midfielder. When French met Argentina in the 2018 Word Cup, Kante successfully controlled Lionel Messi's movement. Nevertheless, Sarri put him in central midfield position, although Kante hasn't had much experience to play that position.

After 12 matches without defeat, Chelsea had their first defeat in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur. Sarri stated that Kante's bad performance was one of the causes of this defeat. He criticized Kante, saying that he was always out of position in that match and that he played more attacking rather than defending. "He lost his position and attacked too much. This is not a characteristic of Kante, but it might be a reaction when facing difficulties," Sarri said.

In the next match against Fulham, Kante fixed his performance. He joined attacking and defending better. He also gave one assist. Chelsea won that game 2-0. "I think he plays very well, he defends very good", Sarri said. However, Kante needs still more adaption to plays his new role. "He needs more times to develop himself to play this new role."

If Kante plays this new role very well, Chelsea has a bigger opportunity to win many trophies. So, by playing this new role, will Kante successfully win many trophies for Chelsea?