What is N'Golo Kante's best role? Joel Shooter examines where the Chelsea midfielder should be playing

Many disagreed with Kante's position on the right of a midfield three instead of at the base of it. Instead, deep lying playmaker Jorginho occupied that role.

However, it is something that current manager Frank Lampard has persisted with so far during his spell in the dugout - and with good reason.

In his two title-winning seasons with Leicester and Chelsea, Kante never featured as the recognised deepest lying midfielder. On both occasions he featured as more of a box-to-box player in a midfield duo.

With the Foxes, he was partnered alongside Danny Drinkwater and then next to Nemanja Matic at Chelsea.

In both sides, Kante’s mobility and energy to get around the pitch and shut down opponents was key alongside a less mobile midfield partner more focused on playing the ball.

In Leicester’s title-winning campaign, his totals of 156 interceptions and 125 tackles were the best in the league in both categories.

And that wasn’t a total that Kante reached by simply just patrolling in front of the defence. Instead, he acted dynamically with license to get up and down the pitch.

The Frenchman is praised for his ability to ‘be everywhere’, hassling opposition and pinching the ball from them. But it’s something that seems to have been forgotten since taking up a role as a shuttling midfielder on the side in a 4-3-3 system first under Sarri, and now Lampard.

The dispute over Kante’s role is exaggerated by Jorginho’s slower and more patient style - as well as some defensive weaknesses - in a deep role, with the Italian acting as a deep lying playmaker rather than an aggressive defensive midfielder.

But shift the Frenchman into that position, and you lose the ball playing ability of Jorginho from deep. On top of that, Kante’s ability to cover the pitch so effectively would be restricted from a deeper role.

That’s not to say Kante isn’t competent on the ball. He has a pass success rate of 83.2% this season and his average of 1.3 key passes per 90 minutes is the seventh highest in the Chelsea squad. However, he's not a player who can dictate play from deep with his passing ability.

A lot of comparisons have been made between him and Claude Makelele, but these are lazy at best.

They are both diminutive defensive midfielders who have won the Premier League with Chelsea - but their roles differ.

Makelele was the anchorman in a midfield three, sitting in front of the defence and protecting them, as well as helping to build up play for the Blues. This was helped by his technical ability on the ball gained from being a winger earlier in his career.

Kante has looked at his best in a midfield double pivot, with his energy enabling him to burst around the pitch and defend more on the front foot, as well as join in with attacks.

Claudio Ranieri has also backed this up, saying about Kante in 2018: "he’s fantastic because he is intelligent, he can run and attack and defend."

While a midfield three may not be the best suited formation for Kante, the World Cup winner is far more suited to one of the shuttling roles rather than the deepest lying position.

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