N’Golo Kante is about to join Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia on a free transfer, a sad day for Chelsea fans.
He’s been one of the best players at the club and has been one of the best players in the world since he arrived back in 2016.
But there was always one problem with Kante – he was too good.
In a similar way to striker that get their teams out of trouble consistently with important goals, Kante’s endless energy in midfield allowed his teammates to play in a totally different way to what they were used to. This was brilliant when he was around – Eden Hazard wouldn’t have been the Eden Hazard we know and love without Kante in the team – but it also created it’s own problems:
His teammates were so used to playing on a team with 12 players that when Kante was out (which he was with increasing regularity over the years) it proved difficult for his teammates to cope.
Now, like an addict going cold turkey, the whole club is going to have to adjust to a post-Kante reality. No matter who is brought in to replace him and no matter how well they do, it will be a different equation all round, and everyone is going to have to adapt to the cruel realities of playing with eleven rather than the twelfth man which Kante seemed to add.
