Former Tottenham Hotspur man Glenn Hoddle has claimed that Chelsea's N'Golo Kante in the best defensive midfielder in the world.
The ever popular Frenchman surprised everyone when he played the full 120 minutes of the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday despite picking up a knock in the Premier League game against Manchester United just three days earlier.
Kante proved just how crucial he is to Frank Lampard and Chelsea, putting in an impressive display in front of the back four, while also providing one of the moments of the game by performing a nutmeg on Liverpool and former England stalwart James Milner.
There was much debate around the position that the Frenchman was played by former Blues head coach Maurizio Sarri last season, with the Italian pushing him into a more advanced role, but Hoddle believes that the midfielder is one of the best when played in a deeper position.
"Last year, I was surprised that Sarri wanted him to play as an eight and get himself forward," Hoddle said on BT Sport.
"In my opinion, he’s the best holding player, deep-lying midfield player in the world, possibly. The energy that he gets, it’s like having two players in there and it gives you that added player you can put in midfield.
"So I don’t see him as an attacking midfield player, ahead of the ball. I think if you sit him in there - but you’ve got Jorginho to do that so I’m really interested to see how Frank’s going to play that midfield.
"I don’t think there’s enough real flair in there to create for that front three."
Chelsea's next game sees them host Kante's former club Leicester City, where Blues fans will be hoping that the all-energy midfilder will be fit enough to have a similar impact on the game.
