Jamie Carragher has revealed the reason why N’Golo Kante is a very average midfielder in Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea side this term so far.
The Blues unbeaten run come to an end on Saturday at Wembley as Tottenham Hotspurs beat dethroned Premier League 3-1 in London derby, with the 27-year-old France international once again used as the most advanced of the side’s three midfielders as the Italian coach preferred summer signing Jorginho in the central berth of the 4-3-3 system.
Chelsea backline was ripped apart, and former Napoli star frequently exposed, and Liverpool legend believes the Stamford Bridge outfit are worse off without their enforcer Kante patrolling in front of the defence.
Carragher said on Monday Night Football: “Well number one: Jorginho is not moving from that position. He’s Sarri’s man, he’s built his team around him.
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“Kante is not moving because he’s signed a massive contract.
“What I would say is Jorginho has been excellent this season. Teams are having to change their system and style to counter-act Jorginho. So that shows how important he is and how good he has been.
“So if he’s getting man-marked, as he was, by Dele Alli, [Gylfi] Sigurdsson, Juan Mata that means there should be space for other players.
“This is Chelsea. They have big players. The space was in the wide areas [against Spurs], so we want to see more from Eden Hazard, Willian, and the full-backs.”
He continued: “The one thing about Kante is he is a very average player in this [advanced] position he’s playing now. I see a normal midfielder player. ‘When he plays deeper, I see a world class midfield player.
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“What do you do? For me, I don’t think this balance ever looks right. I think it’s quite simple – whether or not Sarri is stuck on this 4-3-3 all the time. Play them as a midfield two and play Barkley, or Willian in front in more of a 4-2-3-1.”