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Chelsea: 2021’s best XI is already settled, said, and done

By Michael DeVito

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Frank Lampard manager of Chelsea celebrates his teams victory over Spurs during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on February 22, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22: Frank Lampard manager of Chelsea celebrates his teams victory over Spurs during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on February 22, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 19: Mason Mount of Chelsea looks on during the FA Cup Semi Final match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on July 19, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alastair Grant/Pool via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 19: Mason Mount of Chelsea looks on during the FA Cup Semi Final match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on July 19, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alastair Grant/Pool via Getty Images) /

Midfield: Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, and Kai Havertz

On the left side of the midfield’s dual No. 8 alignment is the exuberant Mason Mount. Previously peppered by truly silly criticism, Mount is clearly at his best position as an attacking midfielder, now becoming the star that many predicted, including Lionel Messi. And who’s going to argue with perhaps the greatest ever?

Mount is taking his game to a new level in midfield. As has been written before here, he is a wonderful linkup player between Ben Chilwell on the left side and the forward on that side. He performs that task masterfully with his ability to blast the ball forward and find the winger on his side or another attacker with equal proficiency. In addition, Mount’s uncanny work rate not only assists his midfield mate N’Golo Kante who can also blast forward in the attack, but also will also complement his other midfield compatriot, Havertz by affording him the opportunity to move forward more freely as well.

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The midfield anchor is probably the best in the world at playing that sweeping up role as a central defensive midfielder and that is the irrepressible N’Golo Kante. The French World Cup winner is arguably the best player at his position anywhere and may also be the most popular player in the world, as well. With his sincere humility and kind and friendly demeanor, Kante is just plain amazing and that goes for both being a brilliant player and for being just such a wonderful person. As he approaches 30 years old, it will be incumbent on gaffer Lampard to utilize this tremendous asset with prudence and perspicacity. Overuse is unacceptable and Chelsea has the depth to allow Kante off-field rest with the likes of top players like Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, and the recently-returned from injury dynamic ball-of-fire, Billy Gilmour.

The second attacking midfielder in the dual No. 8’s is Kai Havertz. The young (21-year-old) German national has had an up-and-down first few months in his new blue shirt. Yet, there is no doubt here that once his acclimatization period winds down and he fully recovers from his bout with the coronavirus, that he will be a terror to Premier League defenses. He has been unusually off-target on his passes early. Whether the reason(s) for that has been a new league, team, or illness, this is clearly going to improve dramatically.

When he gets totally settled, fit, and healthy he’ll undoubtedly begin to rack up copious numbers of assists and goals. In addition, Havertz will score. He already has notched a hat-trick to his name in Blue. He will unquestionably be the best linkup player on the right side to be deployed between the aforementioned James and Hakim Ziyech. When Ziyech finally shakes off his injury woes and has a healthy Havertz between him and James, the right-side creativeness will flow.

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