Antonio Conte once laughed off the suggestion that N’Golo Kante needed to up his game. Kante earned his first assist for Chelsea on Saturday, and Conte was serious about what that means for his midfielder.
N’Golo Kante did his best impersonation of Cesc Fabregas to set up Eden Hazard’s goal against Bournemouth. Kante received the ball on a short, square pass in the centre of the pitch about 15 yards in Chelsea’s half. He looked up and saw Hazard level with Bournemouth’s back line. With perfect timing to keep Hazard on-side, Kante sent a long diagonal pass perfectly to Hazard, who did the rest.
The pass was Kante’s first assist for Chelsea. His passing game is one of the few areas that Kante can improve. Antonio Conte wants Kante to develop a robust passing game, including the ability to make assists and key passes. This would catapult Kante from being one of the top midfielders in the Premier League to being one of the top in the world.
"The second goal, it was a good pass. I think N’Golo has to improve in this situation. If he is able to, he is a top, top player. We work with all the players to improve them and to try to work on their strengths and also to work on their weaknesses. – Chelsea FC"
N’Golo Kante is far more involved in his team’s passing play at Chelsea than he was at Leicester City or Caen. He averages 61 passes per game, with nearly 89% pass completion. Both figures are significantly higher than in his last two seasons. He averaged 39 passes per game at Leicester and 43 at Caen, with 82% and 79% pass completion, respectively.
Kante is making more long ball passes with Chelsea, but fewer key passes per game. Against Bournemouth, Kante completed two of his three long forward passes. Two of these were diagonal passes like the assist to Hazard, and one shifted the play across the field.
Particularly with Cesc Fabregas out of the lineup against Bournemouth, Kante appeared to be seeking out the playmaker passes. While most of his passes were square passes to the wing-backs or Cesar Azpilicueta, he kept his eyes downfield and sought Pedro and Eden Hazard for offensive link-ups.
Kante is gradually looking more inclined to shoot when he brings the ball to the top of the opponents’ box. In the first half of the season, his shots sailed harmlessly out of play. Although he is far from a shooting midfielder, he is now more comfortable in that position. He is a matter of technique away from having another weapon at his disposal.
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Chelsea will likely target Marco Verratti in the summer transfer window. He would be the perfect complement for N’Golo Kante and Nathaniel Chalobah across a three-man midfield. Each of those players have distinct primary skills, but can do a little bit of everything else. If Kante can deliver long passes at key moments in the game, he and Verratti will be the most powerful midfielders – and the most powerful tandem – in Europe.