An age after becoming the first player to have a position named after him, it seems as if Claude Makelele may have found a successor.
Three years ago, N’Golo Kante was playing in the second tier of French Football with Caen. He is now widely considered to be the Premier League’s best anchorman and will wear the blue at Stamford Bridge next season. Kante is certainly a unique player. His record for tackles in 2015-16, which he eclipsed as early as April, is as astonishing as it is exemplary. Many times during the campaign, it was almost as if thought thought he could man mark entire midfield lines on his own. Such was his exceptional dynamism and ball-winning skill, combined with his awareness and composure, making him the perfect player with which a sturdy foundation for a team can be built upon.
This is certainly what Chelsea and Antonio Conte will hope the 25-year-old can bring to a quietly more optimistic Blues. Not only are Kante’s attributes impressive, they seem to be an illustration of what the former champions were so lacking in midfield last year. Chelsea’s double pivot of Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic was crucial to their 2014-15 title win, but their effectiveness dwindled rapidly. It was a partnership that was on the decline, in need of repair, and quite frankly deteriorating. Against opponents who fielded a three man midfield, or a more combative pair than Matic and Fabregas, the Londoners often found themselves over-run. It was a catalyst for many more of the catastrophic results that Jose Mourinho and his squad experienced. This dilemma was only compounded further when Fabregas became more fatigued and lethargic in games, leaving his Serbian screening partner out on his own. As good as Matic is, he is no Kante, reflected by the way his form eviscerated.
Chelsea’s previously impregnable, but now shaky defence did not help either. As the season went on, the combination of a flimsy holding-midfield pairing and an embarrassingly porous backline meant that other teams eyes lit up at the prospect of playing the Blues. One envisages that this prospect will not be as enticing next season. Conte’s displays at Euro 2016 illustrated his tactical acumen and ability to get a not so talented squad playing to a very high standard. Through preseason and training, it is apparent that the 4-4-2 system is the one that the Conte has in mind for his Chelsea side and since Kante is a guaranteed starter barring injury, it will be interesting to see which one of Fabregas or Matic will claim the other berth. The new manager’s declaration to Juventus that Matic is by no means for sale, seemingly points in favor to the latter, but the Spaniard’s incisive passing and ability to create chances out of nothing gives him an advantage in that regard. Whether another signing in that position will be made also remains to be seen.
Though if Conte can integrate his latest acquisition in the way another Frenchman previously was at Stamford Bridge then we are surely in for a treat. Claude Makelele, the player who the anchorman role has been named after, was a key component in the engine room of the Chelsea team in the mid-2000’s. The Blues dominated English football by largely using a three man midfield, which Makelele was always a standout in. Inevitably the comparisons to Kante are frequent, but with good reason. They were both signed by Claudio Ranieri – for Leicester and Chelsea respectively. Certainly both share a quite diminutive frame, physically but also in the way they play. Makelele was heavily reliant on his excellent positional sense, anticipation and clean tackling as Kante is. However, unlike Chelsea’s new signing, Makelele was not one to chase and harry his opponent into submission, but would instead patiently wait to make an interception or tackle. Both have shown their ability to distribute the ball quickly and effectively, but the man who also played at Real Madrid and PSG was probably a slighter better passer, albeit with a preference for less ambitious moves, while Kante takes the edge in technical ability.
Chelsea, it seems, have signed a gem with the Frenchman and his remarkable rise to prominence from the slums of European football shows no sign of slowing up. ‘The Makelele role’ may not be called so for long. It may very well become Kante’s.
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