N’Golo Kante will be a great addition to the Chelsea squad.
Every team would want a player who knows how to break down opponents and influence the counterattack as well as Kante does. After an amazing season at Leicester he said that moving to Chelsea, with a manager as brilliant as Conte and world class players, was an easy decision to make.
He will have learned a lot from Ranieri. His teams are about studying the opponent, finding their weaknesses and capitalising on them, and I’m sure Kante will bring that philosophy to the Chelsea team. He can bring balance to the team, and hold everyone together when the team is under pressure.
It’s always a good sign when a midfielder-come-coach wants you in his team, and especially when that man is Conte, who is a true leader and demands the best of everyone around him, as he did as a player and now from the sidelines. It will be interesting to see if Antonio can squeeze even more out of N’Golo.
Kante is maybe a more quiet type of player, sometimes seen as the unsung hero because he’ll do his job while others run away with the glory. At Leicester the success was due to the whole team’s effort, but it was the likes of Vardy and Mahrez getting the headlines with their goals and exciting attacking play.
Vardy has chosen to stay at the King Power stadium, but there are rumours that Mahrez might be on his way out too. Will Leicester react similarly to Southampton, and keep building on what they started, or will they crumble and get caught in a relegation battle?
It will be an important season for Chelsea because no Champions League football will feel strange after being in it for so many consecutive years. This season is one that can’t repeat itself, so we’re looking for a better start and hoping that the blues can come out of the pre-season better, fitter and sharper than the last one.
#mmlove