Sunday 17 July 2016 12:21, UK
N'Golo Kante is an upgrade on Chelsea's defensive midfield options and could be the signing of the season for a second straight year, writes Peter Smith...
N'Golo Kante was the signing of the 2015/16 season, playing a key role in Leicester City's shock title triumph after making a £5.6m switch from French club Caen.
Twelve months on, his value has rocketed by over 400 per cent, with Chelsea splashing £32m on the France international after a nightmare defence of their Premier League crown.
Can Kante have a similar impact at Stamford Bridge as he did with Leicester? New Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will hope so - especially after seeing his new team opened up on numerous occasions by Rapid Vienna in his first game in charge on Saturday.
Conte only had three days to work with his Chelsea squad before they faced a Rapid side fired up to perform on the opening night of their new stadium and fine-tuned to kick-off their domestic season next week - but nonetheless there were worrying signs for the London outfit.
With defensively-minded midfielders Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel starting in the holding roles of a 4-2-3-1 formation, the conservative Conte - who had emphasised the importance of "good organisation" in his first Chelsea press conference - would have expected better from his side when they were passed through for Joelinton's eighth-minute opener.
Louis Schaub, Steffen Hofmann and Joelinton each had good chances to add a second before Mikel's 58th-minute substitution. Vienna's Tomi eventually doubled the advantage late on once Matic had also been withdrawn.
Given Conte's limited time with his squad and the fact a number of key first-team players involved in Euro 2016 are yet to return, there shouldn't be too much read into the performance. There are still four weeks before the new Premier League campaign for the Italian to get his men firing.
But Conte cannot afford for the team to repeat last season's mistakes and defensive midfield was a clear area to address.
Only seven teams conceded more times than Chelsea in the Premier League in 2015/16 (53) and only five allowed more shots on target (176). Critics pointed the finger at holding midfielder Matic - a star of Chelsea's 2014/15 title-winning season - and the Serb's drop-off in performance was clear.
At the heart of Jose Mourinho's champions, Matic topped the list for most tackles made by a Premier League player (129). During Chelsea's title defence he didn't even feature among the leading 25 names in that category.
His contribution in terms of interceptions (72 to 67), duels won (278 to 176) and recoveries (312 to 228) suffered, too.
In a bid to shore-up Chelsea's midfield, interim boss Guus Hiddink turned to Mikel. Barely used during the title-winning season, the Nigerian had been a regular pick by the Dutchman in his first stint in charge at Stamford Bridge and repaid Hiddink's faith with a number of impressive performances in the second half of the campaign.
However, in Kante, Chelsea have recruited a player whose performances in 2015/16 eclipsed those of Matic and Mikel at their best.
The Frenchman led the way in the Premier League for tackles (175) and interceptions (156), was fourth for duels won (277) and sixth for recoveries (326). Sir Alex Ferguson described him as the best player in the division "by a long way" for the season and Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri compared him to former Chelsea ace Claude Makelele.
There should be no questions over whether Kante can make a success of the switch from a counter-attacking Leicester to possession-rich Chelsea, either.
The central midfielder topped Leicester's passing accuracy stats last season and, in helping France to the final of Euro 2016, completed 92.1 per cent of his passes to team-mates. His four assists for the Foxes in the Premier League last season surpassed the totals of Matic and Mikel combined.
In every department, Kante appears to be an upgrade on Chelsea's current defensive midfield options.
"The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte, a brilliant coach, and some of the best players in the world was simply too good to turn down," he said when his Chelsea move was confirmed. The Frenchman is now counted among those elite players and, with his hefty price tag, will have to live up to the billing.
But Kante, a Premier League winner in his first season with Leicester, a goal scorer on his France debut and finalist at his first major international tournament, specialises in making an impact.
Don't be surprised to see him crowned signing of the season for a second straight year...
