Chelsea hypothetical predicted 4 – Gilmour and Kante – 3 -1 vs West Ham
By George Perry
Midfield: N’Golo Kante
In our miracle, mystical, magical coronavirus-free world, yet another wonder was Didier Deschamps’ decision not to call N’Golo Kante up from Chelsea’s injury list in early March to France’s squad for the international break. As a result, Kante might be closer to full fitness than he has been all season.
Kante will have the added benefit of playing alongside Billy Gilmour. First off, stop and savour that thought: Chelsea have a teenager who is so good he can alleviate N’Golo Kante’s workload.
This will have two salutary effects. One, it will minimize the number of recovery sprints and tackles Kante needs to make, helping preserve him physically for the rest of the season. Second, it will allow Kante to join the attack as needed. His ability to play one-two’s at the top of the box and occasionally receive throughballs in the box will be necessary against West Ham’s compact block. Even if Kante doesn’t score from those opportunities, he can create rebounds and pull West Ham’s defenders out of position enough for someone else to have a follow-on shot.
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Midfield: Billy Gilmour
Note to any future midfield teammates of Billy Gilmour, club or country: Don’t miss three games through overlapping suspensions in two competitions and expect to have your place in the lineup when you come back.
Gilmour has only improved since his man of the match performances against Liverpool and Everton. His Kante-esque control of central defensive midfield allows Lampard to play in a 4-1-4-1, which can easily become a Klopp-esque 2-5-3. Gilmour, like Kante, frees those around him from having to cover each other as much on defence. This means the fullbacks and other midfielders can operate freely on offence, and when Gilmour needs to push up to interdict a counterattack he, in turn, can count on Cesar Azpilicueta (and, to a lesser extent, Reece James) to cover behind him.
Chelsea will take a partial loss on a £57 million transfer this summer, but their balance sheet will still appreciate because of the value added by Billy Gilmour.