Chelsea: N’Golo Kante’s return is more important than new defensive signings

N’Golo Kante is set to return from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the end of last season, and his presence will be massive for Chelsea’s defense.

The summer of 2020 has been one to remember for Chelsea fans, who have rarely experienced a club spending spree like the current one. Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Malang Sarr and Kai Havertz have already joined, with more signings possible. While these new signings—specifically the defensive ones—will have a positive impact on the team next season, it may be N’Golo Kante’s return to fitness that will improve the Blues’ defense most.

Largely considered to be one of the top defensive midfielders in the world, it’s hard to say that Kante is underrated; he can be under-appreciated at times, though. It’s easy to lose track of Kante during a game, only for him to pop up with a massive tackle in a decisive moment.

Those massive tackles were missing for much of the restart, and Kante’s absence in the midfield due to a hamstring injury amplified Chelsea’s defensive issues in a way that many fans probably weren’t expecting. Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen looked helpless at times and the fullback play—specifically that of Emerson and Marcos Alonso—left something to be desired. Overall, the defense was a tire fire, allowing 10 goals in the final five matches without the diminutive Frenchman.

Kante’s real talent is preventing his centerbacks from being put into difficult one-on-one defensive matchups with faster forwards, something that Chelsea is incredibly vulnerable to. He prevents the ball from ever getting to the last line of defense, usually by reading a poor pass or simply muscling an opposing player off the ball in the midfield, which puts Chelsea’s forwards in a great position to counter. Under Maurizio Sarri, Kante also showed the ability to carry the ball forward after making an interception; something that had rarely been seen under Antonio Conte or at Leicester.

Without Kante in the line-up, Chelsea’s midfield was run through like Swiss cheese. His replacements, Billy Gilmour and Jorginho, simply aren’t the same type of players. Gilmour was injured himself in the Palace match and will now require months on the sidelines following a procedure on his knee. Jorginho—while a skilled deep-lying midfielder—doesn’t have half of Kante’s work rate or defensive ability, making it nearly impossible for Frank Lampard to play the high-energy style that was seen for most of the season.

Additionally, the defensive weaknesses in the midfield forced Mateo Kovacic to drop further back in support. This focuses his energy away from transitioning the ball from defense to attack quickly, his best skill, in my opinion. That starved Chelsea’s forwards of service at times, such as in the 3-0 loss to Sheffield and the 5-3 drubbing at Anfield. Kante not only shines in his own role, but he allows the other midfield players to do what they do best. The triad of Kante, Kovacic and Havertz should be one of the Premier League’s best midfield groups next season.

Rumors have been swirling about Kante’s possible departure to Inter, but that would be disastrous for the Blues. There is simply no player that can replicate what he does. The closest comparison would probably be Rennes’ starlet Eduardo Camavinga, but he seems set on developing in Ligue 1 for a few more seasons. Inter will be highly motivated buyers though, as rivals AC Milan have reportedly signed one of their top transfer targets, Sandro Tonali.

Of course, Chelsea can improve its defense in other ways as well, such as signing a top-level keeper or investing in another world class centerback. Even if Abramovic decides that enough money has been spent, Chelsea’s defense will improve simply with Kante’s return to the midfield. Hopefully his presence will instill confidence in his teammates, and fear in the opposition.