It is hard to fathom a Chelsea midfield without N’Golo Kante, but his name can’t seem to extricate itself from transfer rumours this spring. Best to be prepared with some possible replacements.
Nearly every Chelsea fan wants N’Golo Kante to stay in west London and play in his best position, something he hasn’t done since he was alongside Nemanja Matic in the last title-winning season. In the right position carrying out the right roles, he is in the best in the world.
Yet as transfer rumours persist there has to be an eye for the future: a Kante-less world at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will not find a like-for-like replacement for N’Golo Kante because there simply isn’t one. But that does not relieve the club of finding midfielders who can step into the squad and do some of what Kante does.
Chelsea are continually linked to England international Declan Rice. The West Ham defensive midfielder came through the youth system at Chelsea, and remains very close to Mason Mount. Rice has even spoken of his desire to play alongside Mount once again.
Rice is nowhere near as good as Kante is, but Rice has age and nationality on his side: he is only 21, and he is English. Frank Lampard seems bent on nurturing a young English core in his Chelsea team.
Rice could also wear a nice chip on his shoulder if he were to return to Chelsea. Despite coming through the youth ranks he was released by the Blues and picked up by West Ham. Returning to Chelsea would be a bit of a show of defiance – a “look at me now” type move – as well as a massive advancement in his career.
Frank Lampard has also shown he is, unlike Chelsea bosses of yesteryear, willing to blood young players. Declan Rice could slot in alongside another talented youngster, Billy Gilmour, who is the heir apparent to Jorginho.
A possible in-house replacement for N’Golo Kante is Mateo Kovacic.
The Croatian had started to find his groove under Lampard before the season was suspended.
His passing and ability to ride a tackle is elite. While his engine isn’t as good as Kante’s (no one’s is), he displays a drive and determination to win the ball back that is crucial to any team.
Kovacic is also the cheapest option since the club already own him, and he is proven at the top level. Declan Rice, on the other hand, is so far untested in Europe, and his England performances have been too up and down, and too few, to be able to accurately judge his ability.
With Rice and Kovacic representing a Premier League and an in-house option, respectively, Max Bird offers a Championship option.
During the course of Frank Lampard’s time in charge at Derby County he noticed a lot of promising players, and his previous club could bear some fruit for Chelsea once again.
Max Bird is a defensive midfielder who checks a number of Lampard’s apparent criteria.
At just 19 he is young and still learning. He is a cheap option with high upside potential, and he is English. The 19-year-old impressed alongside Wayne Rooney, and the Championship is a rough and ready league. For a player of such little experience to perform well, he is clearly an above-average talent.
Bird is not afraid of a tackle, and still he likes to spray the ball around the pitch. He is obviously the most raw and unknown talent of the players mentioned, but Lampard obviously saw something in Bird when he gave him his debut at 18. That connection could prove worthwhile.
Finally there is of course a familiar name that could work in a new Chelsea midfield: Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Loftus-Cheek would come into the XI adept at playing the type of role Kante is being forced to play now.
Game in, game out, Kante is being asked to be an all-action midfielder. While he has shown vast improvements in his game, he isn’t the quintessential box-to-box, “Frank Lampard-esque” midfielder.
For what feels like the better part of a decade Ruben Loftus-Cheek has teased Chelsea fans he can be that type of player, proving it with every chance he has before the next injury interrupts. He was arguably Chelsea’s best player under Maurizio Sarri when he finally cracked the first team, and he would have been a shoe-in for a first team berth this season had it not been for a ridiculous injury in a meaningless game.
Chelsea have been without Loftus-Cheek for so long he could feel like a new transfer.
Loftus-Cheek will more than likely make the Chelsea starting XI even with Kante in the team, so he could be a complement as well as a replacement, depending on what becomes of the Frenchman.
It seems hard to justify supplanting a World Cup winning midfielder. The ideal scenario is Chelsea keep hold of Kante for another season and bring in a player like Declan Rice or Max Bird to learn from him. If, that is, Kante actually wants out. If he wishes to stay, the Blues should count their lucky stars they have such an all-round quality player and nice guy in their team.
If they do have to choose his replacement, Declan Rice just edges out Mateo Kovacic. He is the closest direct replacement for Kante, has a strong connection with the club and some of the players, and his relative youth compared to Mateo Kovacic gives him more time to grow and peak as a Blue.
A Kante-less world might be a nightmare for Chelsea fans, but if Declan Rice (and Jadon Sancho) came to Stamford Bridge to feel the void it would go a long way to softening the blow.