Kante is playing a different role in the midfield for Maurizio Sarri and it’s working out well for the Frenchman, despite what some critics may say.
There has been a lot of criticism of Maurizio Sarri’s antics as of late, due to several poor performances from his side. Thankfully the Blues put forward a good showing in a 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield over the weekend, which has taken the pressure off of Sarri; for now. Their recent signing Gonzalo Higuain bagged two beautiful goals in the victory, giving Chelsea supporters hope that they could have found the number nine they have desperately needed since Diego Costa left for Atletico Madrid in 2017.
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But despite all the negative comments about the Italian manager, he has made this team better. He’s brought more an offensive flair to Stamford bridge with a very attacking driven type of football.
Sarri has made Kante better offensively
N’golo Kante is a prime example of a player who has become a more versatile midfielder this season. He’s been known in the past to be a holding center midfielder, who plays more of a defensive style than anything else. This type of play Kante is known for is what has made him one of the best center midfielders in Europe, despite his small size.
But now this season under Sarri, he is playing on the right in the 4-3-3 formation, getting the opportunity to be more involved on the attacking side. His goal and assist totals this term prove that he’s become a lot more productive in the final third. Kante has netted four goals this season, a career high in a Blues uniform, and he also has four assists, surpassing his previous best of one assist in a season.
Kovacic or Jorginho are now playing as the holding midfielder in middle of the pitch, which has worked well at times but at others, not so much. A lot of pundits believe that Kante should be back in his typical defensive midfielder position, which may be true. But he is extremely important on their attack this year, showing everyone that he has the ability to score goals and set them up along with being a mainstay on the defensive end. Maurizio Sarri has brought this offensive prowess out of N’golo Kante. If it wasn’t for him, Kante would strictly be a defensive midfielder still.
Sarri is going to do it his way
Sarri has been critical of Kante at times, saying he isn’t “good enough technically” to play in the central midfield, putting his former Napoli man Jorginho in the middle instead. These comments are something I definitely don’t agree with, and there is some obvious favoritism there for Sarri’s former player in Italy. But despite all of this, I think the way N’golo Kante has played this year out on the right as more of an attacking midfielder has been impressive. There is absolutely no doubt he can hold down the central midfield position, but Sarri chooses to play Jorginho or Kovacic there.
Kante isn’t the type of player to complain. He is making the most out of his new position this year and in return is becoming an important piece of the Chelsea attack.
He is adapting to what the manager wants, and it’s working out well for the Frenchman. It may not be his ideal spot on the pitch, but N’golo Kante has become a more all-around midfielder who now poses as a goal-scoring threat for the Blues as well.