Having snapped up forward Michy Batshuayi earlier in the transfer window, Chelsea continued revamping their squad with the addition of Leicester midfielder N’Golo Kante for a reported £32 million.
The France international put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Blues, and speaking to the club’s official website, revealed how he was looking forward to linking up with new Chelsea manager Antonio Conte:
“I am so happy to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It’s a dream come true for me. The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte, a brilliant coach, and some of the best players in the world was simply too good to turn down. My first season in English football was very special and now I hope to go on to achieve even more during my time as a Chelsea player. I am looking forward to meeting up with my new team-mates and helping the club achieve a lot of success.”
The History
Born in Paris, France, Kante played the majority of his youth career at JS Suresnes, before joining Ligue 2 side Boulogne as a 19-year-old in 2010. He made his professional debut coming on as a substitute against Monaco in May 2012, before establishing himself as a regular starter the following season with the club playing in the third tier. The midfielder made 38 league appearances in total for Boulogne, scoring three goals.
In the summer of 2013, Kante moved to Ligue 2 outfit SM Caen. An ever-present as the club secured promotion to Ligue 1 following a third-place finish, he bagged two goals and as many assists. In 2014/15, he racked up a further 37 league appearances, scoring two goals and registering five assists, as Caen secured a respectable 13th place finish.
Last summer, Leicester City swooped to sign the little-known midfielder for a fee of around £5.6 million, and he turned out to be one of the signings of the season, playing a significant role in the club’s incredible Premier League success. The tenacious Kante played in 37 league matches, scoring one goal and providing four assists, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year.
Although he could have represented Mali at international level, Kante declined their approaches, and was rewarded with a first call-up for France in March 2016 following his impressive performances for the Foxes last season. He made his debut coming on as a substitute against Holland in March, and scored on his first start against Russia four days later. He was also part of the French squad during Euro 2016, and now has eight international caps to his name.
The Prospects
Given his paucity of attacking returns, Kante will hold little interest as a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) prospect, although he will be an asset in games that reward defensive contributions like DraftKings.
Bearing in mind that Kante led all midfielders for successful tackles (126) and interceptions (157) last term, helping Leicester keep 15 clean sheets, the expectation is that Chelsea will prove to be far more difficult to break down this season with the Frenchman in their ranks, thus focusing our attentions on their defence.
To an extent, our assessment of the Blues’ backline depends on Conte’s tactics.
In their first pre-season friendly, a 2-0 defeat to Rapid Vienna, the Italian started with the 4-2-3-1 favoured by both Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink last term.
Conte has regularly played with three-man defences during his stints in charge of both Juventus and Italy, though, meaning that a 3-5-2 or even a 3-4-3 system is a possibility. Kante’s role is likely to be as part of a two-man defensive midfield in any case, with his dynamism, tough tackling and ability to break up opposition attacks expected to help protect a Chelsea backline that kept only nine clean sheets (three at home) last season, compared to 17 during their title winning campaign in 2014/15.
Certainly, our faith in the likes of Branislav Ivanovic or Cesar Azpilicueta would take a turn for the better if utilised as a wing-back, though Conte could also choose to operate with Willian or even Eden Hazard on the flanks, potentially limiting our defensive options to three centre-backs. Such a scenario could see Ivanovic battle it out with John Terry, Gary Cahill and – when fit – Kurt Zouma – for our attentions.
Looking at the opening schedule, Conte has some friendly fixtures (WHM, wat, BUR, swa) to kick-start his Chelsea tenure and we’ll be keeping a keen eye on his tactics as we analyse the best route into their rearguard.
Whilst Kante is likely to be a peripheral FPL figure, then, his knock-on effect should help the Blues defenders re-emerge as some of the strongest premium options available for our five-man backlines again. Leicester, meanwhile, will be hoping that new boy Nampalys Mendy can make a similar impact on their rearguard after arriving from Nice earlier in the summer transfer window.
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