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Three N’golo Kante’s equals one Paul Pogba

By Moussa Traore

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 13: Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Chelsea's Ngolo Kante in action during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Final match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on March 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Ashley Western - CameraSport via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 13: Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Chelsea's Ngolo Kante in action during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Final match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on March 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Ashley Western - CameraSport via Getty Images) /
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Chelsea midfielder outplayed his compatriot Paul Pogba in the FA Cup quarterfinal by scoring Blues winner.

There were a lot of questions when Chelsea manager Antonio Conte made possibly the greatest bargain ever by signing N’golo Kante for a costly £29.2 million from Premier League champions Leicester City. While this was happening, Manchester United were too busy making Paul Pogba the most expensive player in football history by inking him from Juventus for £89 million.

Kante and Pogba are indeed different players. Pogba has the freedom to roam around the pitch and provide that goalscoring threat, while Kante’s greatest assets are his energy and protecting his back four, something he does better than any defensive midfielder in the world.

According to Gary Lineker, Kante has the potential to be the best midfield player ever if he scores more goals. This is a big time statement from Lineker, who was probably still in the moment when Kante beat David De Gea from long-range to defeat the Red Devils in the FA Cup quarterfinal.

The 25-year-old was a vital cog to the Foxes title surge in 2015-16 campaign, catching the attention of top football clubs in Europe. This season at Stamford Bridge, the relentless midfielder has proven that you could get three N’golo Kante’s for the price of one Paul Pogba. 

No doubt Diego Costa and Eden Hazard has been superb for Chelsea this season, but the Blues most valuable player has to be Kante. Just look at where Leicester City ranks in the table without him. Hell, they’ve even sacked their manager Claudio Ranieri, leaving us wondering, “Did Kante make Ranieri’s job easier?”

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Not taking anything away from the Italian manager, he had a fantastic season but in this case Kante made Ranieri.

Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard, has been so impressed with the Frenchman that he revealed to BBC Kante is the best midfielder in the world on current form.

“I’d go as far to say that he’s the best central midfield player in the world on current form, I really would,” Lampard explained to BBC.

“I’d sort of compared him in my head to Makelele last year, and when he came to Chelsea I thought, ‘Here’s their Makelele,’ but he’s got even more to his game.”

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“Looking at the way he’s performing this year, he may not be scoring lots of goals but what he’s giving to the team in the way he’s playing, the driving force that he is, I cannot see anyone else out there in world football better than him at the moment.”

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