Former Chelsea superstar Scott Minto has revealed that he would like to see French midfielder N’golo Kante break the shackles in his new position.
Ever since Maurizio Sarri has taken over as Chelsea boss in the summer, the Italian has transformed Chelsea into a formidable unit but has altered with the system slightly. Sarri has played some beautiful football with Chelsea receiving plenty of plaudits and praised by fans and pundits across England.
Having brought in his key playmaker Jorginho from Napoli and the midfielder has been a revelation as everything goes through the defensive midfielder. But due to Jorginho’s presence, one player in the form of N’golo Kante has been used in a different box to box role.
Chelsea was humiliated 3-1 against their local London rivals Tottenham Hotspur during the weekend’s Premier League clash and the West London club looked lackluster in their tactics as well as position. But ex-Chelsea star Scott Minto believes that Kante would be able to adapt well to this new role and become the new Michael Essien.
While speaking to Love Radio Sport the Englishman said, “I’m a little bit against the grain [on Kante]. I understand what Sarri is trying to do and what he did at Napoli with Jorginho playing as that playmaker. “
However, Minto also explained that Kante is the best defensive midfielder in the world when doing what he does, “Kante for me is the best defensive midfielder in the world in that destructive role, stopping teams counter-attacking, trying to win the ball back and protecting the back four. No-one can deny that Kante is, if not one of the best, the very best at it. But that’s not what Sarri is trying to do in terms of his team. I actually think Kante, if you look at how he played when he played for Leicester; he wasn’t just a defensive midfielder. He went everywhere. If you look at the heat maps, he was that cover-every-blade-of-grass kind of player. He wasn’t sitting in front of the back four and protecting them. That’s what he did when he went to Chelsea.”
Minto then drew comparisons of Kante with Ghanian great Michael Essien and explained, ”I do think he’s got more to his game. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him in this role but I do think he can become like a Michael Essien, who can be fantastic in that role but also going forward, using his energy as a box-to-box midfielder.”
There’s arguably too much of pressure on Kante as he is very humble and usually adapts to most situations. But a new role will be difficult initially and he could take time to adapt to what Sarri actually wants him to do for the club.
