Chelsea 2022-23 season player ratings: Midfielders

Mateo Kovacic (6/10)

It was quite an up and down season for Mateo Kovacic, marred by injuries and a lack of consistent form. While his ability to progress the ball, dribble intight spaces and provide tenacity in the press are well known, the Croatian’s career has been hindered by a lack of final output and this deficiency was particularly evident this season.

Although he’s due for a screamer every couple of months, there have been multiple occasions this season where Kovacic has missed massive scoring opportunities or misplaced crucial passes in the final third. Even defensively where he’s supposed to be one of the better defensively minded midfielders in the squad, he has been passed by easily in the middle of the park more often than usual this season.  It is heavily reported that Kovacic is likely to leave this summer and Manchester City are clear favorites to sign him. Should he be a City player next season, his qualities could be used to their best abilities under a manager like Pep Guardiola.

Ngolo Kante (7/10)

Rating Ngolo Kante’s performances this season is challenging due to his limited 7 appearances due to injury. However, when he did feature, he hardly put a foot wrong. Deployed in a more advanced midfield role, Kante was given additional responsibilities to press higher and the freedom to progress the ball into the final third.

While he often lacked the clinical finishing and final ball, that is an aspect of his game that we have come to expect less from. Overall, the Frenchman has been positive when he’s featured and has provided a bright spark in a Chelsea squad that has missed his presence on numerous occasions.