Chelsea: What Jorginho out, Mount maybe, Kante in could mean for midfield

Chelsea’s midfield will have several changes against Crystal Palace, as N’Golo Kante’s return balances out the absence of Jorginho and maybe Mason Mount.

Chelsea may be without their best presser and will definitely be without their best Jorginho on Saturday. It’s true. Chelsea have no better Jorginho than the one sitting out the twelfth game of the Premier League season due to yellow card accumulation; and Mason Mount’s readiness is uncertain after he came off with an injury in the second half against Ajax on Tuesday. On the plus side, N’Golo Kante is likely to make his return to the starting XI, but Jorginho’s and Mount’s absence could change how Frank Lampard uses him and for how long.

Like most players returning from injury, the best case scenario would be to give Kante a partial game: either the first 60 or final 30 minutes. We know what the worst case scenario looks like: coming off after 10 minutes against Watford.

However, without Jorginho and possibly without Mount, Lampard has competing considerations.

Kante may need to take a more active role in the press to compensate for Mount’s absence, even if Kante plays deeper than Mount would. Mount has been the Blues’ most aggressive presser, and usually leads the press while other players cue off of him. Mateo Kovacic can lead the press, but he would still need someone to work with him. At times Jorginho would dart up while Kovacic stayed deep or, as in the first half against Ajax, Marcos Alonso would shift over to cover midfield. But Jorginho will obviously not be there, and whether Cesar Azpilicueta or Emerson starts at left back on Saturday, his first priority will be Wilfried Zaha. Kante may need to be the replacement for both Mount’s and Jorginho’s contributions to the press.

Of course, Chelsea will also need N’Golo Kante to stay deep. They may have forgotten what it’s like to have a true defensive midfielder over the last few weeks, but with Kovacic covering a lot of midfield in transition Kante can properly support the defence, especially against Zaha and Cheick Kouyate.

Kante will give the Blues new options for bringing the ball up-field, especially when he is the one winning the ball back near the top of the defensive third. He and Kovacic have a similar ability to recover the ball, turn and, within a few steps, have the ball in the clear and moving forward, either at their feet or through a sharp outlet pass.

Under ideal circumstances – Jorginho out, Mount in – Kante could stay close to the defence and not have to log too much distance during his first game back. But with both out, Kante will be covering for both men, at least in part. He may have to lead the press as Mount would or support the press as Kovacic and Jorginho would, while also supporting the defenders in both directions of play. In short, he will have to play a full, standard N’Golo Kante game in his first game back.

How Frank Lampard replaces Mason Mount on the team sheet and in the tactics will say a lot about some of Chelsea’s fringe players.

Assuming he is recovered from his own injury, on paper, Ross Barkley is the like-for-like fill-in. But Barkley’s recent performances were underwhelming, particularly in areas where Mount is so valuable: runs between the lines and the press. Barkley may start in place of Mount but Kante may still need to do one of Mount’s most important jobs. It would only be a partial vote of confidence for Barkley to start in a watered down role that requires a recovering Kante to drive forward and fulfill.

Another option would be to play Pedro in the advanced midfield role. Pedro’s frantic harrying masks an intelligent and obviously experienced football mind. He, Kovacic and Tammy Abraham – with Kante just behind – would be a fast and confounding press, similar in many ways to Ajax’s. Obviously, in possession, Pedro would give Chelsea another option for playing direct, or at the very least a few attempted curlers from 20 yards while moving along the top of the box.

But if Lampard doesn’t want to pull from outside his usual pool of players, he could tap Willian in attacking midfield and have Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic on the wings. Willian and Pedro both played a similar role in Chelsea’s occasional 3-5-2 under Antonio Conte.

Playing Willian would be a vote of no confidence in Barkley and Pedro, and would greatly raise the chance that both will leave in January. If Barkley cannot get in during a Mason Mount absence, he will have no chance once Ruben Loftus-Cheek returns.

A decision to play Mount at partial fitness would have an even greater effect, given the risks involved. Lampard relies on Mount to the point of dependency, first at Derby County and now at Chelsea. The Blues are a weaker team when he is not in the side, and that makes just a strong case for leaving him out as it does for wrapping him in duct tape and bringing him back in. Successful teams do not allow themselves to be dependent on any one player.

Chelsea are fortunate to have N’Golo Kante back for this match given Jorginho’s and maybe Mount’s absence. The Blues have become accustomed to not having Kante, which is not at all the same as moving on from him.

The game against Crystal Palace will be a chance for him to show just how much the other players can do when one man can do so much in a key position.

Chelsea have a higher ceiling when Kante is in the lineup because he allows the other players to do so much more by doing so much of what many of them are currently doing.