Chelsea winter evaluation: Midfield secure but problematic

N’Golo Kante, France

Kante’s story this season is much like Antonio Rudiger’s. He spent a large swath of time injured and was then expected to jump right back in and solve everything. That may have been overly ambitious even for Kante.

Lampard has largely kept Kante in a more box to box role like last season. The main difference seems to come in the freedom around Kante benefiting him. He is now allowed to both attack and defend and he can rotate wide as he does so.

It is always hard to say Kante has had a “bad season” but by his standards, this would be his lowest at Chelsea. The injury has taken a lot away from him that he still seems to be looking for. The new tactics may free him up too, but they also take him away from areas he dominated with Antonio Conte.

The other issue is that it becomes awkward to squeeze both Kante and Jorginho on the pitch together. Their roles are different but they do tend to step on each other’s toes. It would be great if Chelsea could keep both, but it is increasingly feeling like it will be one or the other next season.

Performance so far: Probably his worst Chelsea season, but that is still better than a lot of other players on the team

Will he return next season: At 28, the temptation might be there to sell. But as Chelsea’s only world class player, it would take a gargantuan fee. Jorginho’s future might also tie into Kante’s given how they step on each other’s toes.