Should Chelsea sell Kanté?
N’golo Kanté has just signed a new five year contract to keep him at Chelsea until 2023. Although breaking into the world football scene relatively, the French midfielder boasts an impressive CV with two Premier League titles, an FA cup, a World Cup and was a European Championships finalist along with an array of individual awards.
He is undoubtably a world class midfielder and one of the best players in the Premier League. However, since Sarri’s arrival in London it has felt like Kanté’s influence has been diminished.
Kanté has a more attacking role in Sarri’s 433 than in Ranieri’s 442 or Conte’s 343. He has left his role of midfielder destroyer he was well known for during Leicester’s phenomenal title winning year and is pushed forward as Jorginho plays as the 6 and the deepest midfielder in Chelsea’s system.
It has been argued that Kanté isn’t suited to this system and is wasted. And I tend to agree and think that it is a difficult situation for Chelsea which I want to discuss.
Kanté has a specific skill set and is quite unique at the top level. Technically he is strong but not sensational. Chelsea play a possession based, high pressing style which requires players with strong technical ability. Jorginho is employed as the 6 to play a similar role that he had under Sarri at Napoli. Jorginho was brought in as he fits the style perfectly.
Meanwhile, Sarri inherited Kanté, he wasn’t bought for the system. It is a weird scenario for Chelsea and it seems off to suggest selling one of their two world class players. The issue for them is it may be worthwhile cashing in on Kanté as he is under utilised and would bring in a lot of money to be able to recruit another world class midfielder better suited to the philosophy.
I think he fits a specific role and if he’s not in that role then you could improve. Let’s say for example, Kanté is only at 80% of his potential ability, why not cash in and recruit a player who’s level is higher than Kanté’s 80%.
A worry is that Chelsea are letting another team have him. If Kanté moved to Juventus or PSG for example then they would improve massively and be able to optimise him in their midfield and therefore offer a big threat to Chelsea in European football. A decent reason to hold onto him is to stop any other team from being able to enjoy him.
Alternatively, Sarri could adapt the system to cater and utilise Kanté better. For example, moving to a 4231 with Jorginho and Kanté in a double pivot, allowing Jorginho to dictate buildup but also follow the ball up the pitch while Kanté does the defensive work.
Overall, probably not. What I hope for is an adaptation of the tactics to make better use of the French midfielder. If they did sell him, I think it gives a good opportunity to recruit a world class player who will suit the role. It would be an issue for Chelsea to give him to another team as they would strengthen. They couldn’t for example sell him to a Premier League rival. I am in no way saying Kanté has been bad this season, he’s just not as good as he could be and offers an opportunity cost to Chelsea. I just want to see him utilised and not wasted.
Thanks for reading, please check out my Twitter as well as my recent piece on who Chelsea should sign on the right wing.
