Possible N’Golo Kante extension is a statement by Chelsea

N’Golo Kante, perhaps the greatest human being alive, is rumored to be on the verge of a contract extension. That would be a massive statement by Chelsea.

Last season, there was a very legitimate debate as to who was Chelsea’s most important player: Eden Hazard or N’Golo Kante. The World Cup and Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri may have shifted that scale, but Kante is at the very least Chelsea’s second most important player.

Kante has been playing an adjusted role under Sarri. At times it has gone well while at others it has been a struggle. The stats have dropped but the overall contribution has changed to something less stats based. Sarri may be trying to turn a square peg into a round one and the success has thus far been mixed.

But if the rumor that the club is looking to extend Kante’s contract is true, it would be a massive statement by the board. It would be the board telling Sarri (and fans) that no matter what, Kante is a starter and key player for the Blues.

As already mentioned, Kante is not quite a natural fit for how Sarri is currently using him. Antonio Conte and Didier Deschamps have both shown that using Kante in a purely defensive role is a waste of his talents. Sarri has shown that using Kante in a more offensive role (to start the press higher) is equally as much of a waste. Conte (in the 3-4-3) and Claudio Ranieri struck the sweet spot in between the two where Kante truly ran up the stats.

So unless Sarri adjusts how he uses Kante, there will be a segment of the fans and probably a part of Sarri’s own mind that will say there is a better option. But a contract extension would be the board telling Sarri and fans, unequivocally, that Kante is a starter and will remain as such.

Whether that causes Sarri to readjust things or not is still up in the air. The manger is currently using Kante much as he did Allan but the world knows Kante has more to give. One solution would be swapping Kante and Mateo Kovacic’s sides, but that would require a rebalance of the attack.

After all, Kovacic is often the midfielder going deepest alongside Jorginho in buildup and defense. Kante presses higher, which surely suits his energy, but that first press is rarely if ever a successful one. By asking Kante and Kovacic to play more like the other, their strengths might be better utilized. But Sarri likely has deeper reasons as to why they are where they are and why they are used the way they are.

The contract makes the conversation largely academic. Kante will remain, by indirect order of the board, a starter and key Chelsea player. Whether or not Sarri adjusts the shape/roles on the field to get a better game out of everyone remains to be seen. Chelsea is a winning yet unbalanced squad and getting the best out of Kante will go a long way towards making the squad more solid and dangerous.