N'Golo Kante

N'Golo Kante
Image from: sportsbank.net

N'Golo Kante

Current Club: Chelsea.
Previous Clubs: Leicester City, SM Caen, US Boulogne.
Loan Clubs: None.

International: France 19 caps 1 goal.

I know Ed004 is going to be disappointed with this profile, as he wants me to pull down Kante and prove that Garth Crooks' favourite footballer, Paul Pogba, is the better midfielder. Even though that bears no relation to current reality. Pogba has the potential to be far better, but currently there is no one better in central midfield in European football than Kante. He is world class, in my way of seeing world class, in that he would walk into any team in the world and make it better. Kante might not make it more creative or more skilful, but he would make it more likely to win games if he was in there.

There are a fair few weaknesses in Kante's game, a glaring one being his lack of height, which almost stopped his move to Leicester in the first place. It held him back early on, as people just dismissed him in French football for being too short, which saw him only sign his first professional contract at the age of 22. However, despite the height, he has a good leap and is actually decent in the air, never giving anyone an easy ride. It is more of a perception problem than an actual problem, though you would not back Kante to beat Peter Crouch in the air, it is very rare he has to face an opponent like Crouch.



On the ball Kante lacks the range of passing and vision of a Cesc Fabregas, he does not have the skills to dribble past five men to create space for a shot, though he is improving his passing. His movement, both when his team is in possession and out of it, is excellent, he is perpetual motion, always presenting himself as an option to receive a pass or looking to close down the opposition. I doubt there is any player who has played alongside him that would not love what he brings to the game. He is the perfect team mate.

Kante is the kind of player that is beloved of team mates for numerous reasons, not just because he can do all the hard work for you, if you are Fabregas, but because he makes them look better. He does not have a fancy new hair cut on Instsnaptwitbook each week, he does not even drive a flash car, he just gets on with working hard and playing to the best of his ability each week, allowing the more skilful players to shine. Despite this, he has attracted the spotlight anyway, which says a lot about just how well Kante has performed in the last couple of seasons.