Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola has explained the two reasons former boss Maurizio Sarri played N'Golo Kante in a more advanced midfield role last season.
The arrival of Jorginho at Stamford Bridge to facilitate so-called “Sarriball” saw the World Cup winner afforded greater licence to roam forward.
It was a decision which drew criticism from Chelsea supporters, with many suggesting Kante was not being used in his best position.
Sarri left after just a single season in charge at Stamford Bridge after lifting the Europa League trophy and securing a third-placed finish in the Premier League.
Zola served as assistant manager for the former Napoli boss, and speaking at the start of the new season he explained the logic behind Sarri's decision.
Speaking to beIN Sports, he said: “There are two reasons for that. The main reason is that in the way Sarri plays, the sitting midfielder (the number six) plays the most balls in the whole team.
“Normally on average if Jorginho - when he was in Napoli and also last year - touches between 140 and 160 balls. Sometimes even more.
“So, he wants somebody that is confident in getting the ball and playing because he is very much influential in this game.”
Zola also questioned the idea of Kante as a “sitting midfielder”, pointing to his previous performances at Leicester City and Chelsea as evidence.
He finished: “The second reason is that Kante is not a sitting midfielder. He has played in a midfield two in Leicester and the first two years with Chelsea.
“In Leicester he was playing with Drinkwater who was actually the sitting one, and Kante was moving around. He was free to go forwards, sideways, backwards, wherever he wanted.
“It was the same with Chelsea in the second year when Matic was the sitting one, and Kante was doing the same job.
“We did speak to Kante about this, and he was very happy to play in the position because he liked the position.”
