By Ewah Chika.

Leicester City fans can be forgiven for sulking after it was confirmed Chelsea had completed the signing of their French defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante for £30 million, considering the player ended last season on the high even earning a spot in the starting line-up for Didier Deschamps French team in the European Tournament in the summer as Les Blues finished runner-up behind Portugal.

The transfer fee represents a £24.5 million profit for Leicester considering Kante was signed last summer from Caen for only £4.5 million. Kante was so impressive last season that he was named Leicester City's Player's Player of the Year and also named in the Premier League PFA Team of The Year.

"My first season in English football was very special and now I hope to go on to achieve even more during my time as a Chelsea player.

"The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte, a brilliant coach , and some of the best players in the world was simply too good to turn down," Kante said after signing for Chelsea on Saturday.

Kante will compete for a spot in central midfield with the likes of Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel. It is already rumoured that Chelsea is likely to sell Matic given that he might be offered limited game time due to Kante's arrival . This doesn't change the fact that Kante is the ideal player for Antonio Conte considering his pattern of football. The defensive midfielder is perfect in tackling and interception and his signing will help reduce the defensive burden on Cesc Fabregas who was over-laboured last season as he was asked to drop back and defend , making him unable to pick and play key-passes in the final third as he was often dropped deep to defend. In Chelsea , Kante will sit back and cover for either of the wing-backs depending on the formation Conte will use at the club. This task is similar to the one done by Sergio Busquets in Barcelona which allowed Dani Alves to play further high up the field and provide assists for the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Kante also has an impeccable passing ability and energy as he tirelessly drove high up the field to set up attacks in the final third all through last season.

"People think we play two in midfield and I say No. We play with Danny Drinkwater in the middle and we play with Kante either side , giving us essentially 12 players on the pitch," Steve Walsh Leicester's Head of Recruitment said.

In Chelsea, Kante is perfect for any formation and his discipline and ability to concentrate all through the duration of the game a big plus for the West London side. The French man can play with a more attack minded Matic who was an attacking midfielder before Jorge Jesus changed him to a defensive midfielder in Benfica. The duo can play together in a 4-2-3-1 formation, 4-3-3 formation and
3-5-2 formation as Cesc Fabregas will play just behind the main striker in each formation . This means that the player most likely to be affected by his signing is Oscar as Fabregas will be moved forward to allow Matic pair with Kante to form a highly technical and tactical central pairing in the Premier League.
Last season, Kante made 125 tackles with a near perfect rate of 71% , 156 interceptions , 11 blocks and a pass accuracy of 82% which is the reason for his four assists in his 37 league games. Although he lacks the positioning prowess of Chelsea legend Claude Makelele, Kante is a better all round player with his dribbles and through balls another of his strengths.

However, just like every other player, the French man will have to improve on his aerial ability and shooting as this is his greatest weakness to become a one of the best midfielder the game has ever seen which is possible considering his age (25).

Though everything for now is still based on theory, one thing we know for sure is that Chelsea have signed a key player in N'Golo Kante.

Source

http://mailtelegraph..co.ke/2016/07/is-ngolo-kante-antonio-contes-missing.html?m=1