Wednesday 12 October 2016 12:00, UK
Chelsea's N'Golo Kante lines up against his former club Leicester live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday. His departure has left a gaping hole in the Foxes' midfield, writes Nick Wright...
When N'Golo Kante arrived at Leicester's Belvoir Drive training ground for the first time last summer, the story goes that he was mistakenly directed towards the schoolboy players. The little Frenchman did not look like much at 5ft 6ins, but he soon set about defying the doubters, and over the next nine months he was a towering influence in Leicester's historic season.
By the end of it, Steve Walsh, the head of recruitment who brought Kante to Leicester from French side Caen, had made a habit of telling the same joke. "We play three in midfield," it went. "We play Danny Drinkwater in the middle with Kante either side."
Kante had been the driving force behind Leicester's title triumph, and Claudio Ranieri echoed Walsh's comments after the midfielder's £32m departure to Chelsea in July. "If Chelsea bought Kante, it's because he played as two players last season," he said. "The referee counted 11 but we were 12."
It was a typically good-humoured response from Ranieri, but adapting to life after Kante has been no laughing matter. The 25-year-old made more tackles and more interceptions than any other player in Europe's top-five leagues last season, and seven games into the new campaign the champions sit 10 points off the top having struggled to fill the sizeable Kante-shaped gap in their midfield.
Without Kante's superhuman energy in midfield, Leicester have become far more vulnerable at the back. Leicester are averaging 16 tackles and 14 interceptions per game compared to 23 and 22 last season, and with Wes Morgan and Robert Huth no longer afforded the same protection, the Foxes are now facing 5.3 shots on target per game instead of 3.7.
It's little wonder they're struggling, and it's a headache for Ranieri, whose Kante succession plans were dealt a considerable blow when summer signing Nampalys Mendy hobbled off with an injury during Leicester's 0-0 draw with Arsenal back in August. Leicester had high hopes for their latest young recruit from Ligue 1, but Mendy has spent the last two months on the sidelines.
Danny Drinkwater has taken on more defensive responsibilities in the meantime, averaging 4.3 tackles per game compared to 3.0 last season, and he has been partnered in midfield by the 21-year-old Daniel Amartey, a January signing from Danish side FC Copenhagen who spent the formative years of his career playing as a right-back.
It has been a baptism of fire for Amartey, who only played 102 minutes of Premier League football in his first six months at the club. The Ghana international's defensive numbers pale in comparison to Kante's contribution last season, and he was overrun during Leicester's heavy defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United.
Ranieri refused to blame the youngster, however, instead pointing to a lack of collective effort from his attacking players. "It is about how the midfielders play together," he said. "If the strikers don't help Drinkwater and Amartey, or if the wingers don't close narrow, then it is difficult. That happened against Liverpool."
The stats back Ranieri up, with Riyad Mahrez, Marc Albrighton and Jamie Vardy all averaging fewer tackles per game than last season, but there have been signs of improvement in recent weeks. Leicester kept consecutive clean sheets against Porto and Southampton before the international break, and Ranieri feels Amartey is adjusting to his new role.
"I think Daniel improves a lot," said the Italian. "I am very happy with him. He played so many matches on the flank in his previous team and sometimes in the middle as centre-back or central midfielder. I've always believed his best position is as a central midfielder. Slowly, slowly, he is only 21 years old. It is not easy to take this position."
Amartey's improvement is encouraging but he cannot compete with the dynamism of Kante, who averaged 64.0 sprints per 90 minutes last season compared to Amartey's 46.2. It's a considerable difference, and it partly explains why Kante's absence has upset the team's balance so much.
While Morgan and Huth have been exposed at one end, Leicester have become less effective at the other. Kante's driving runs through midfield were a valuable link between defence and attack last season, and Drinkwater's increased defensive workload means he is creating just 0.7 scoring chances per game compared to 1.3 last year. Leicester's attacking threat has been compromised. They have only scored eight goals in seven league games.
"Now everybody must understand that there is no Kante so we have to be more close, more attentive," said Ranieri earlier this season. "We have to think different and close space quicker. We must be smarter."
Leicester are having to change their approach and it's taking time for it to come together. Kante may not have looked like much when he arrived, but he left as a giant. The midfielder's role has changed at Chelsea, but Saturday afternoon could still provide a reminder of what Leicester are missing.
You can watch England's tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the British Masters on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price!
