Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has claimed that he knew in the first few seconds of working with N’Golo Kante what a special player he was, especial in terms of his running power.
Kante, who earns £144,000-a-week (Spotrac), has got to come close to the top of the list when discussing players in world football during recent years with the most stamina.
The French World Cup winner is a midfield engine that has an all-out approach for 90 minutes and doesn’t appear to tire.
He’s been such a vital player at Stamford Bridge signed he joined back in 2016 from Leicester, with signs lately that he’s getting back to his best.
The 29-year-old central midfielder has had a few injury problems in recent seasons, but when he’s on form he’s one of the best around at breaking up play in front of a defence.
Tuchel have lavished praise on the ability of the Blues fan favourite:
“It was clear from the first second in training what this guy is capable of doing,” Tuchel said, as quoted by the club’s official website.
“This is unbelievable and we see his intensity in the physical report after matches and we think maybe they tracked two people and put it into one sheet!
“It is unbelievable what he delivers in terms of intensity and ball recoveries and of devotion for a group. This is world class, the highest level, and we are very happy he is in our squad.”
The Chronicle View
Kante has the lot when it comes to the defensive side of the game, with his tackling, interceptions, positioning and power of recoveries.
He’s had to adapt his game somewhat to be more of a ball player and his role is tweaking again since Tuchel arrived as part of a two-man midfield.
But it’s clear that he’s already liked by the German boss and must be a manager’s dream.
Tuchel right now is opting to rotate between two from Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.
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