N’Golo Kante: the challenges ahead

We all know how big an impact N’Golo Kante has made on England’s top flight. It will not surprise anyone that he has been included in The Football Lab’s Premier League Team of the Season.

He makes 3.7 tackles per game and even when he does not complete a tackle, he is almost always in an area in which he can help his teammates to do so. Kante’s infectious tenacity made him a pivotal cog in 15/16’s champions Leicester, likewise 16/17 champions-elect Chelsea.

The one question lingering over the 25-year-old is whether he can sustain this level of performances next season, which will produce fresh challenges. Since joining Leicester City from Caen as a relative unknown in the summer of 2015, he has never played Champions League football.

That has allowed him longer to rest then prepare, mentally and physically, for individual matches. Those benefits to Chelsea have reduced the need for rotation, therefore Kante has played in a consistent, cohesive midfield. Part of the reason English clubs have struggled in Europe over the last few years is because there has been no international break, allowing little recuperation time.

Chelsea had had 14 midweek games in the 15/16 campaign, often played by the same players who had been burnt out somewhat by the previous two seasons. In 16/17, Chelsea have only had six midweek games and Kante has been perhaps a beneficiary.

He has been outstanding since coming into the Premier League and, whatever happens from now on, nobody can take his first two seasons away from him. However, balancing his remarkable domestic form with competitive performances against Europe’s elite will his next major challenge.