N’Golo Kante’s rapid ascension to prominence is one of football’s most remarkable tales.

Within the space of five years, he went from unknown Ligue 2 player to World Cup champion. He is vastly regarded as one of the best midfielders, if not the best defensive midfielder in world football, and he proved to be an indispensable figure in Leicester City and Chelsea’s title triumphs.

Despite his relatively small presence, and humble demeanour, the Frenchman is one of the most energetic and most combative players on the pitch. His ability to retain possession is unparalleled, and he’s often solely responsible for disrupting opponents’ attacks, and he can also instigate attacks.

At Leicester, Kante was a pure defensive midfielder, winning every tackle and registering several critical interceptions and blocks. While he succeeded to sustain this degree of defensive involvement at Chelsea, Antonio Conte urged him to improve his technical qualities, and resultantly, his passing and dribbling skills have improved notably.

However, his technical capacity have been measured once more with the arrival of Maurizio Sarri, who has altered Kante’s position. Throughout his spell in the Premier League, the 27-year-old has operated as the deepest midfielder, a place that enables him to maximise his defensive qualities. It’s widely considered that the Frenchman is at his most effective when functioning in this role.

Since Maurizio Sarri was appointed as Chelsea manager in July, the Italian has displaced Conte’s 3-4-3 formation, referring to the more customary formation of 4-3-3. Additionally, the arrival of Jorginho from Napoli, the individual responsible for coordinating every attack, has altered Kante positionally. This has elicited questions regarding Kante’s aptness to play in Maurizio Sarri’s side and has propelled some to question his future with the West London side.

Currently, in Chelsea’s system, Jorginho occupies the deepest role in midfield, as the way the FA Cup holders play has been seriously transformed. Under Antonio Conte, Chelsea were a clinically ruthless counter-attacking side, who were content with sacrificing the majority of possession. Contrastingly, Sarri’s teams seek to dominate possession and prevent opponents attacking by retaining the ball for sustained periods. Moreover, as per the BBC, Maurizio Sarri has advanced Chelsea’s play by more than three meters this season, which places less emphasis on the defensive phase.

Throughout his career in England, a reoccurring feature of Kante’s play has been to intervene crucially at the last-second or complete an interception or a tackle that nullifies a purposeful chance to score. In Sarri’s system, due to his positional change, there are fewer opportunities to contribute in this manner. Furthermore, supporters have seen the dynamic midfielder continually occupy attacking positions, which he even scored from against Huddersfield, but he has also wasted meaningful opportunities, such as those against West Ham.

Some have argued that Kante’s presence in a midfield that requires technical competence impedes upon the team, whereas, I’d argue that his inclusion is integral towards Chelsea’s balance. And, the statistics affirm his significance to the team.

During the title-winning campaign of 2016/17, N’Golo Kante averaged 2.3 tackles per league game, and 2.2 tackles per game league last season. He is currently averaging 1.9 tackles per game.  During the 2016/17 campaign he averaged 1.3 clearances per league game, and he averaged 0.74 clearances per league game last term. He is currently averaging one clearance per game. During the 2016/17 season, he averaged 2.3 interceptions per game, which increased marginally to 2.4 interceptions per league game last season. He currently averages 0.9 interceptions per game.

Aside from interceptions, his defensive involvement has remained mostly similar, and if we assess his attacking statistics, it’s evident that Kante has become more influential this season. In seven league games, he has already matched the total of league goals (one) that he achieved in 69 previous league matches. Furthermore, in the 2016/17 term, Kante averaged 0.6 key passes per game, and he averaged 1.1 key passes per game last season, he currently averages one key pass per game.

While it’s fair to argue that the current system doesn’t deploy the former Leicester City star in his best position, it doesn’t translate to an ineffectual Kante on the pitch. His involvement may not be as prominent as previous seasons, but he continues to affect the game positively, and exert control at the heart of the pitch.

Many on social media have suggested that Sarri should consider switching the positions of Jorginho and Kante, which would enable the French international to operate as the deepest midfielder. However, these claims fail to recognise that Chelsea would lose their attacking potency and capacity to dominate possession if Jorginho were to be relocated.

It’s at the heart of the pitch, slightly deeper than Kante and Kovacic, where the Italian is best able to utilise his passing range and navigate the Blues’ attacks. He is the essential player to Sarri’s system, without him, Chelsea are unable to implement his ideas effectively.

Correspondingly, the Blues can ill-afford to relocate Kante at the expense of the team’s balance and structure. Like several other players, the combative French midfielder is adapting to the new manager’s demands, while continuing to be efficient and impactful on the pitch, as he has been against reputable opponents such as Arsenal and Liverpool. Kante is precisely where Chelsea need him to be.

What are your thoughts? Let us know!

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