TV pundit Alan Shearer says he is perplexed by Maurizio Sarri’s decision to pick N’Golo Kante in a more attacking role.
Chelsea lost 3-1 to Tottenham on Saturday with many pinpointing the lack of defensive cover for the back four as the main cause for the Blues’ poor display. Speaking about the issue, the former England international said:
“Why Maurizio Sarri is not playing N’Golo Kante in front of his back four baffles me. Without the little French dynamo in that hole, tidying up, tracking runners, it leaves the Chelsea central defenders David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger massively exposed — as Spurs showed to such devastating effect on Saturday night.”
Plenty of fans on Twitter agree with Shearer’s opinion on Kante:
I’m no journalist but have wanted to change things all season! Kanté, best defensive midfielder in the world not playing as a defensive midfielder. Madness. #CFC
— Terry Burgess (@notjustdad) 25 November 2018
I understand Sarri has a structure he wants to follow and believes will work best but what if he swaps Kante and Jorginho? Will it actually have an adverse impact on his style? Is it because Jorginho has to sit deep and in the centre to start attacks? Double pivot then? #CFC
— Projit Sen (@ProjitSen) 26 November 2018
Kovacic and Jorginho need to pull there finger out
I'd like to see Kante at CDM with Barkley and RLC just ahead in a 3 man MF if those two don't get it together.Also Fabregas too in the fold…. #cfc— Diego Costa (@KingsOfEuropeX2) 26 November 2018
Sarri must go back to 4-2-3-1 formation or he will face the sack of blocking the position that Kante must play #CFC
— Live the Blue life™ (@SanRMaadhwa) 26 November 2018
Sarri playing Kante out of position is a mistake. If he wants to play Jorginho then Kante would have to be on the bench. It makes more sense to play Loftus Cheek, Barkley, Kovacic or any of the other midfielders in the more advanced position.
— Raymond Griffith (@booscus) 25 November 2018
Needs to have options but we’ve done well up to now. Like any team we need have other plans when things aren’t going well. Yesterday, spurs were good and we didn’t work hard enough out of possession and were prone to giving the ball away easily.
— Graham King (@gkbluegreen2015) 25 November 2018
However, others disagree with Shearer’s assessment:
I don’t actually believe Kante is a DM he is more an old fashioned CM like Roy Keane… Box to Box & protects his team regardless of position…
Wins the ball back & distributes it accordingly…#Midfielder— Adam Hamp (@TheHampy) 25 November 2018
Kante hasn’t played as the anchor in a 3 man midfield since arriving in England. Not sure he has the discipline. He’s only ever played in a 2
— JAMESY (@JAMESY83780674) 25 November 2018
Can Kante babysit the back 4? Of course. But that move would unbalance the side EVEN MORE. The reason we’re wide open is because Kante as an 8 is the only one doing his job and pressing from the front as Sarri wants. So many people are fundamentally misunderstanding this point.
— Andrew Turmer (@AndrewTurmer) 26 November 2018
It’s probably unlikely that Sarri will move Kante back into a defensive midfield role in the short-term. The Italian’s football philosophy is based on having one holding midfielder who can dictate play with their passing.
The “regista” role is not something Kante would be suited to, but if teams do continue to target Jorginho, the manager may have to change his approach, which could mean the Frenchman having to play alongside the Italian to provide extra protection.
Chelsea next face PAOK on Thursday evening, having already qualified for the knockout rounds of the Europa League, and Sarri is expected to make wholesale changes for the match ahead of the Fulham game on Sunday.
