Football news - Better without N'Golo Kante? Chelsea journey could be nearing end for former star

N’Golo Kante’s effect on the Premier League has been nothing short of incredible.

Having been identified as a diamond in the rough by Steve Walsh during his highly successful recruitment crusade at Leicester, Kante waltzed into the Premier League and conquered it with ease, breaking all manner of defensive stat records as he drove the Foxes to their fairytale Premier League title.

Then, proving he was no flash in the pan, Kante had the same unfathomable galvanising effect on Chelsea, becoming the first player since Eric Cantona in 1993 to win the Premier League with two different clubs in successive seasons. There seemed no stopping the impossible-not-to-like Frenchman.

Yet, just three years on from that title triumph under Antonio Conte, Kante finds himself out in the cold at Chelsea, with Frank Lampard finding it tough to fit him into his system.

At 29, and currently the club’s highest paid player, it seems Kante’s time at Chelsea may be drawing to a close – something that would previously have been unthinkable, yet something that could in fact suit all parties concerned.

“In Kante’s first year, he came to Chelsea and I made it public that he is the best central midfielder in the world,” former Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet said in a recent interview. “After a previous season as a number eight in that different position, we lost how important and unique he was as a player.

“I hope he can get back to that. In his best position, he is unique and there’s not many players that can give you what he can do right now.”

The issue for Kante is that the position he has excelled in no longer exists in Lampard’s current Chelsea set-up. As this season wore on before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Lampard had settled on a 4-3-3 system, with a myriad of young talent showing glimpses of what a blue future could look like.

Kante had been deployed in a midfield two, where his capabilities come to the fore, for much of the early part of the season, and then on either side of a three as Lampard’s system evolved.

Yet, with that extra man in there, Kante’s breathless ball-winning abilities are not quite so crucial. His driving runs forward still appear from time to time, but his defensive efforts are no longer what they were given the crowded engine room Chelsea now possess.

Strikingly, per 90 mins, Jorginho, the focal point of the Lampard midfield, has completed more tackles and made more interceptions and recoveries than Kante. Even more surprising is just how much better Chelsea have fared without Kante in the team.

The Blues have tasted victory in five of 16 league games in which Kante has started – a 31.2 per cent win ratio. Without Kante in the team, that figures jumps to nine wins out of 13 – a 69.2 per cent win ratio.

This is no slight on the player, Kante’s talents just do not fit into Lampard’s style of play. It is not for want of trying on Lampard’s part, it just very much feels like square pegs in round holes.

So what now for Kante? Chelsea, like most other clubs, will be in a much worse financial state than they were in before the coronavirus pandemic. With a desired asset in Kante, still of an age where he can enjoy many more years at the top, Chelsea can command a substantial fee if they sell him, and will be able to doubly benefit by offloading his sizeable wages.

Lampard has made no secret of his desire to add plenty of fresh faces next season, whenever that now may be. Selling off a player who it seems cannot be used to the best of his abilities certainly makes good business sense, even if the goodbye, emotionally, will be a tough one

Kante may find his top level once again. After all, he has not just been successful at one club. It just seems that club to get him back producing those all-action midfield displays may not be Chelsea.