Joey Barton declared on the Robbie Fowler Podcast that N’Golo Kante should not be compared to any of the Chelsea or Premier League midfield greats.
Fowler and his guest were debating about the caliber of player currently situated in England’s top flight.
“Some people think the level of the Premier League has gone up. I think it’s gone down,” confessed Barton.
“I had a discussion the other day about who we’ve played against. Your (Frank) Lampards, (Steven) Gerrards, (Michael) Essiens, (Paul) Scholes, (Patrick) Vieiras, (Roy) Keanes. The creme de menthe of midfielders.
“They talk to me now about N’Golo Kante being an enforcer. I’ve played against N’Golo Kante. He wouldn’t have lasted a minute. They were all 6ft4 machines.”
Kante was just starting his ascent towards elite status as Barton’s career was coming to its conclusion.
The latter’s final season as a professional coincided with Kante being crowed league champion with Chelsea and winner of the PFA Player of the Year award.
He built a reputation for being a chief disrupter, titanic tackler and insistent interceptor.
Barton was instead known for being the bad boy of English football.
Only six others have received more red cards than the former Manchester City midfielder, who also nestles safely inside the all-time top 15 for yellow card culprits.
It is difficult to compare Kante to the aforementioned legendary names of Lampard and the like.
They all belonged to a certain generation that came long before the destructive Frenchman joined Chelsea for £30m (BBC Sport) from Leicester City in 2016.
Lampard had no sooner retired before he was managing Kante at Chelsea. Only one of them remains at Stamford Bridge.
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I can see why some would want to dispute comparisons between Kante and the icons of old.
Barton lived and breathed that Lampard and Gerrard generation, witnessing their immensity first hand.
But I don’t how you can look past putting Kante in that bracket. He redefined a position that hadn’t really been seen another legendary Chelsea midfielder, Claude Makelele.
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