“I want to play a centre midfielder with a very technical player, so for me the centre midfielder is Jorginho or [Cesc] Fabregas. I don't want [N’Golo] Kante in this position.”
Those were the comments of Maurizio Sarri when he was Chelsea head coach during the 2018/19 campaign.
The Italian arrived at Chelsea and brought a new 4-3-3 system with him, with Jorginho being a key cog in his team.
The Italy international was known as the ‘Regista’ at Napoli and transferred that over to west London when he made the switch with Sarri.
What that did, however, was move Kante out to the right of a three in midfield and away from what is seen as many as his more natural role.
Kante had great success with Leicester City, France and Chelsea playing as a two in the heart of the midfield, where his defensive qualities really came to the fore.
But when Sarri came in his role changed significantly and he was asked to play in a more attacking role.
Frank Lampard has at times this season used a 4-3-3 formation, similar to that of Sarri’s and it has mainly been with Kante on the right.
But against Aston Villa, Kante was back in defensive midfielder mode, playing at the base and with Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount on either side.
It saw Kante at his best defensively, winning the ball on regular occasions and no players being able to get beyond him.
The one question mark has been whether or not he is good enough on the ball to play in a similar role to the way Jorginho has played it.
Let’s be honest, though, he is a world class player and can certainly play in that role.
Jorginho’s suspension is now up and he is available for Manchester City on Thursday night.
However, the focus will now be the more long-term ambition of the club and the role, whether or not Jorginho can still play a part in the side.
There has been talk of moving on the Italy international, and Kante’s performance and the emergence of Billy Gilmour coming up through the ranks might add fuel to that rumour.
Kante’s defensive work is certainly something which would add to Chelsea’s game in the race for the top four.
This summer, if Kante continues to play in the role, might be enough to force the Blues to move on from Jorginho and cash in.
