The Re-Emergence of N'Golo Kante Is Key to Chelsea's Defensive Improvements

Chelsea's defensive instability under Frank Lampard has always been met by real confusion, largely because he has a player widely viewed as the world's best defensive midfielder, N'Golo Kante, at his disposal.

The Frenchman has built up a reputation as an elite stopper who is capable of breaking almost any attack, and that's justified. You only have to look at any of Kante's performances since his move to England in 2015 for evidence of his outstanding defending.

However, an opinion which has also been justified is that Kante has his flaws and needs to be playing in the right system if he is to be at his destructive best.

When you watch Kante, you'll see that a lot of his good work comes from his desire to chase attackers down. He doesn't stay in one position and instead loves to fly around the pitch to recover possession, and he does that better than anybody on the planet.

What he doesn't usually do is anchor a midfield. Over the last five years, he's very rarely played as a lone wall at the base. At Leicester, he was next to Danny Drinkwater. Antonio Conte lined him up alongside Nemanja Matic. Maurizio Sarri pushed him further forward, and Lampard is said to see Kante's future higher up the pitch as he still wants to sign West Ham's Declan Rice.

Positional discipline has been a problem for Kante, but this season, he's finally showing that he can shine in front of a defence.

Since the Premier League's three-month hiatus earlier this year, Kante has been used almost exclusively as a lone midfielder in a 4-3-3. Lampard knows he needs somebody to sit in front of the defence and offer some much-needed balance, and Kante has finally answered the call.

He has showcased the kind of discipline which had previously been absent from his game, and has now developed a way to indulge his danger-seeking senses with more composure. Instead of flying around the pitch in search of the ball, he's waiting for it to come to him.

In the recent 2-0 win over Newcastle, Kante's four tackles and three interceptions were game-highs in both categories, as he sat at the base of Lampard's midfield and snuffed out anything that Steve Bruce's side could throw at him.

It's proved vital for this much-improved Chelsea side, but his composure on the ball has been just as important.

With the ball at his feet, Kante is relishing his role as the link between the lines. He hoovers up possession from his defence and then looks forward to try and start an attack, whether that be through a short pass to a fellow midfielder or a long ball up top. He's good enough to do both now.

Not only is he making defending easier for Chelsea, but he's sorting them out on the attacking side of things as well. He's playing like the complete midfielder.

In this form, there are few players who can even hold a candle to Kante, and Lampard knows that. It's why the boss is praying that Kante can maintain his fitness this time around, having seen him miss most of his debut campaign through niggling injuries.

Chelsea still need to find an alternative to Kante, who is currently the Blues' only defence-first midfielder. Nobody on the planet can be expected to play 50 games each year with no break at all. It should be top of Lampard's agenda.

However, to say that Kante needs replacing is a little too far. The 29-year-old has risen to the challenge and proved why he's one of the best around. He's playing some of the best football of his career right now.

Maybe the 'defensive midfielder' label isn't as misguided as it once was.

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