The French midfielder was played in a new role during the now departed manager's tenure, and he thinks he adapted to it well
N’Golo Kante says he enjoyed the challenge of adapting to a new midfield role under Maurizio Sarri, and says he liked playing in his new position.
As Sarri implemented his 4-3-3 system at Chelsea with summer signing Jorginho occupying the deeper role, some sections of the Blues’ support were annoyed to see Kante shifted into a more advanced role.
It remains to be seen what sort of role he will be assigned under new boss Frank Lampard, but the 2018 World Cup winner might now be a better player for the experience of the last campaign.
“The new role stemmed from our 4-3-3- system,” Kante told Yahoo Sports. “It’s been a few years since I played in a team with two flat midfielders.
“Then, I found myself playing with a single number six and two number eights. By repeating patterns of play in training, in matches and with advice from the coach, I think I managed to adapt.
“I like this position, it allows me to join in with attacks and have a role when the team goes forward. There is a bit more pressing high up the pitch but I like it.
“In this position, sometimes the game is behind you and you have less time than in the number six role. You have to orient yourself properly and apply yourself technically. I like this challenge and I like this position.”
The 28-year-old is going into his fourth season at Chelsea, but has only spent one of those campaigns playing in the Champions League.
They secured qualification by finishing third in the Premier League last season, adding a Europa League win for good measure.
With two league titles to his name, Kante wants another chance to test himself at the very highest level and is hoping to improve on the Blues’ last showing.
“Everyone knows what this competition represents for footballers,” he added.
“I had the chance to play in it once before with Chelsea but we went out in the last 16 against Barcelona. I hope we will be able to further this season.”
Chelsea start the new season with an intriguing trip to face Manchester United on August 11, before taking on Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup three days later.
opaque
94
Kante plays best in a double pivot but not in this system. We struggled to play out of the back in a 4231 despite having both Kovacic and Jorginho on the pitch. Imagine if one of them was Kante. So for an attacking system Sarri actually used him in the best position possible...
kayodeomolayo
60
now he like scoring dan defending,see wat dat cigarette man has cause
ziedert
56
even if u play him as goalkeeper he will never complaining
Nesaiknruy_Legend
49
Kante wasnt even that bad last season. I actually liked him as a box to box midfielder. I dont get why people want him to play defencive all the time like a sniffer hound. I hope he has the freedom to roam this year so he can do both defencive and attacking work. I hate how people want to limit his capabilities...
Handsome Mike
33
Yes! his game improved significantly towards the end of the season..Jirginho improved a lot too. If Sarri had stayed, we would have seen a better Napoli in Chelsea.