N’Golo Kante rejoins Chelsea training but there are no guarantees

N’Golo Kante is training with the first team again after some Covid-19 related fears. Chelsea is boosted by him but there are no guarantees.

Covid-19 has required clubs to adapt or simply show their true colors. So when N’Golo Kante, who has a family and personal history of health scares, wanted to train alone the club was quick to allow it. Kante was/is rightfully cautious about the Premier League’s plan to return to play as the virus remains in the world.

There was a moment where it appeared games would return before Kante. There was even talk of things dipping into next season without the Frenchman in the squad. His training with the first team again does not mean he is ready to play against opponents yet, but it is at least a step in the direction to do so.

That being said, the notion of Kante potentially being out for a season should raise red flags for the Blues. The player himself is world class and will have a place at Chelsea for as long as he wants it. But who fills the breach if Kante does not feel safe? There are no guarantees about Kante’s return, nor who could fill his boots.

Kante has missed 19 games through injury or injury related reasons this season. Various midfielders have stepped in for him, but the Blues simply do not have another midfielder that can do what Kante does. Frank Lampard has largely adapted to set ups that work around not having a defensively minded midfielder, but that has also left Chelsea vulnerable (combined with the tactics themselves at times).

Mateo Kovacic, as the club’s only other certified world class player, is a lock in midfield. Jorginho can do a job, but his skillset is more suited to matches where Chelsea can dominate the ball. Billy Gilmour has done fantastically on and off the ball recently, but ideally his focus is more on play making than destroying in the center. Mason Mount, Ross Barkley, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all simply too attacking to consider for a shielding spot. And while Lampard has mentioned Andreas Christensen or Reece James could play in midfield, neither has outside of a few brief moments late in a match.

The game could simply be progressing in a way that means a defensively minded midfielder is less needed than it used to be. After all, many managers like Lampard defend more through the press than behind the ball. But if everyone else is avoiding a certain profile of player, that creates an opening for clubs to use that type of player when other teams no longer know how to prepare for it.

Kante is 29 and while he can surely adapt his style to age, his style also relies heavily on his ability to move about the pitch. Time will catch him but this Covid-19 situation, without any guarantees as to when Kante will return, should cause Chelsea to start thinking of the future. If the Blues do not currently have a player that can deputize Kante and his skillset, then they need to look towards the market for it.

The Blues are spending heavily on attackers and a newt defensive midfielder will likely be an after thought at this point. Furthermore, the midfield is already crowded (and getting more so) as it is. But even with Kante returning, the Blues should probably start preparing for life when the Frenchman is no longer an option. That day is coming, rapidly, and the Blues need to be ready ahead of time.