Antonio Conte might not have got a chance to sign players at Chelsea yet but one star could very well be headed to Stamford Bridge and that is Leicester City’s N’Golo Kante. The French midfielder might have missed out on Euro 2016 glory with France but playing under Conte at Chelsea could well give him a chance at more glory than just the Premier League title in a few years.
Leicester might not want to let go of the 25-year-old central midfielder but if the Blues do make a decent offer for him, it could be a good option to cash in on him and with Nampalys Mendy already at Leicester; it does seem more than likely that Kante is on his way out of the club.
Either way, if Chelsea do sign the 25-year-old, it would be a great opportunity for him to show what he can do under another tactically brilliant manager but there would be a few problems as well. We look at the pros and cons of signing Kante for Chelsea.
Pros
The best tackler in the Premier League
One thing is a certainty, if Kante is brought to the club, he will bring a lot of tenacity to the midfield of the London club. The Blues do have Nemanja Matic but he isn’t the same player he once was and with Kante in the side, there is a surety that the Blues will have one of the best tacklers in the Premier League.
Kante is a no nonsense midfielder and he will win the ball more often than not and keep the opposition in check as well.
A great reader of the game
One of the best qualities of Kante is his reading of the game, sure he might be a great tackler but his positioning is second to none and he would provide a lot of cover to the central defenders.
Kante can cover a lot of ground and that would certainly help the Blues out this season. If he is paired with the right midfielder, it could work out like a charm for Conte’s side as they look to win the Premier League or at least make it to the top four.
Cons
Chelsea would have to play with two defensive midfielders
The Blues might have to take a leaf out of Leicester’s books. N’Golo Kante looked good on his own but he was excellent when he was paired with another central midfielder who did not wander too much in attack, Danny Drinkwater.
Chelsea might have to play with another similar midfielder in the side and that could curtail their creativity next season. It does depend on how Antonio Conte lines up, if he sticks to his trusted 3-5-2, then it should not be a problem but if he does want to play a 4-4-2, Chelsea could very well be struggling in attack this season.
He isn’t the attacking outlet that Chelsea need
More than having a defensive outlet, what Chelsea needed was a midfielder that can take the ball forward and link up with the attack. While Chelsea were linked with players such as Miralem Pjanic and Radja Nainggolan, it made sense but the signing of Kante doesn’t, unless someone like Matic is going to leave Blues.
To be honest, no one really knows what Antonio Conte has planned for his time at Chelsea and it certainly will be interesting to see how all of it falls into place when the Italian starts buying players for the club. For now, Kante would be a great singing even with the cons of bringing him to Stamford Bridge.