Jamie Carragher believes N’Golo Kante must be switched back to a deeper role to stop him looking like a ‘very average midfielder’.
The World Cup winner and two-time Premier League champion has been deployed in a more advanced role under Maurizio Sarri, something he has not looked comfortable doing.
Since moving to England from Caen in 2015, Kante has established himself as the best holding midfielder in the league and one of the best in the world.
While Chelsea were unbeaten under Sarri until the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, Kante has looked a shadow of the man who won the PFA player of the year award in the 2016/2017 season.
Carragher does not think it will be ‘revolutionary’ to move Kante and play him alongside summer signing Jorginho, who has been criticised for his display at Wembley, in the Frenchman’s preferred role.
‘Well No 1: Jorginho is not moving from that position. He’s Sarri’s man, he’s built his team around him,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports Monday Night Football.
‘Kante is not moving because he’s signed a massive contract.
‘What I would say is Jorginho has been excellent this season. Teams are having to change their system and style to counter-act Jorginho. So that shows how important he is and how good he has been.
‘So if he’s getting man-marked, as he was, by Dele Alli, [Gylfi] Sigurdsson, Juan Mata., that means there should be space for other players.
‘This is Chelsea. They have big players. The space was in the wide areas [against Spurs], so we want to see more from Eden Hazard, Willian, the full-backs.’
He continued: ‘The one thing about Kante is he is a very average player in this [advanced] position he’s playing now. I see a normal midfielder player.
‘When he plays deeper, I see a world class midfield player.
‘What do you do? For me, I don’t think this balance ever looks right. I think it’s quite simple – whether or not Sarri is stuck on this 4-3-3 all the time.
‘Play them as a midfield two and play Barkley, or Willian in front in more of a 4-2-3-1.’
Carragher referenced Mohamed Sissoko’s role alongside Xabi Alonso in a Liverpool team that he played in as an example, explaining that the more physical Sissoko used to play next to the ball player to take pressure of Alonso.
The main difference, according to the former Liverpool defender, is that Kante is a much better footballer and is just as comfortable receiving the ball as Jorginho.
‘You’ve got two players who can receive the ball,’ he added.
‘If they want to man-mark Jorginho, Kante can receive the ball. We’ve seen enough of him in this league to do that.
‘It gets Kante back into his best position and it might relieve pressure on Jorginho.
‘I don’t think it’s revolutionary.’
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