N’Golo Kante finds new ways to leave the footballing world speechless and his opponents dumb-founded. His performance against West Ham was once again dominant, almost to the point of absurdity.
N’Golo Kante earns more positive comparisons to rodents than any player in history. In August, Eden Hazard said Kante is “like a rat – he goes everywhere.” After Kante was a typically ubiquitous pest against West Ham, Jamie Redknapp called him “Chelsea’s Mighty Mouse,” writing in the Daily Mail “it’s as if he is wearing a cape.”
Even Antonio Conte – a man who will furiously berate his players for a misplaced pass in the dying minutes of a sewn-up game – could only laugh when trying to find fault in Kante’s performance. “He made five mistakes. He has to improve in this. He has to improve,” Conte said while bursting out in laughter.
In nearly every game N’Golo Kante creates a moment that goes into the file marked “Only N’Golo.” Among his 14 tackles against Liverpool were two tackles on the same player in under a minute. Against West Ham on Monday night, Kante completed a 25 yard pass to himself deep in West Ham’s half.
Kante’s movement on his auto-complete pass demonstrated his bottomless energy and acceleration. He was already moving at top speed when he released the ball down the touchline. Yet once he saw that none of his teammates were on the receiving end, he increased his cadence to brush past several Hammers’ defenders.
Kante took his own pass right on the goal line. He controlled the ball, then split his two markers with a pass to Eden Hazard at the top of the box. Only a few inches and a few degrees prevented Hazard from blasting a one-time shot on the net.
The speed, the awareness, the composure and the freakish simplicity of it all exemplified Kante’s season. Kante is a blank slate as much as he is a blur on the pitch. He executes one-of-a-kind plays and exhibits generational talent with the ho-hum modesty of a second-division utility player.
Antonio Conte’s biggest challenge regarding N’Golo Kante may be managing the temptation to over-play him. Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta are the only outfield players that have more minutes than Kante. Kante covers more ground than them and at higher speeds per game. Like Azpilicueta, Kante shows few signs of fatigue and would be hard-pressed to ask for down-time or say no if called upon.
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Kante needs and deserves a thorough off-season this summer. He will be a key part of Chelsea’s Premier League and Champions League campaigns, which will lead into France’s World Cup ambitions. Conte and the French national team must ensure that Kante can continue to play like Kante for many more years.