N’Golo Kante left Chelsea back in the 2023 summer transfer window after seven successful years at Stamford Bridge.
At the time, the sad truth was Kante looked finished at the elite level. He was constantly picking up injuries and decided to swap European football for the Saudi Pro League.
However, fast forward to now, and the former Chelsea midfielder is injury-free and making an impact on the pitch again.
N’Golo Kante reminds everyone of his class in Colombia vs France
Kante started in France’s 3-1 win against Colombia on Sunday and put in an excellent performance.
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As per Sofascore, the Frenchman made 10 defensive contributions during the game. No player managed to record more.
Breaking that down, Kante attempted six tackles, made one interception, completed two clearances and blocked one shot. He also won six out of nine ground duels.
It was only a friendly, but Kante went up against some very good players. For example, Colombia had the likes of Luis Diaz, James Rodriguez, Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Munoz all on the pitch.
Bearing that in mind, despite being 35 years of age now, Kante still looks capable of playing in Chelsea’s midfield.
Today, Chelsea have Moises Caicedo lining up for them in the middle of the park. Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and Andrey Santos have all partnered him this season, but Caicedo would love to play alongside Kante, he admitted in a recent interview.
How Moises Caicedo can surpass N’Golo Kante
Caicedo is probably the closest thing to Kante in the game right now. At the start of this season, the Ecuadorian even looked like he had more in his arsenal.
Like Kante, Caicedo is exceptional at winning the ball back. The 24-year-old can make tackles and interceptions, but he has also been able to score some spectacular goals against Liverpool and Brentford in the current campaign.
Moises Caicedo of Chelsea applauds the fans
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Caicedo’s shooting is perhaps better than Kante’s, but when it comes to tackles, his ones are not as clean as the France international’s.
That, as well as the angles Caicedo comes in from, is probably why he gives away so many fouls and picks up a lot of yellow cards. Kante was a tackling machine during his days at Stamford Bridge but was not penalised as often as Caicedo.
Already having long-range goals in his locker, if Caicedo can refine his tackling a bit, there is no reason why he cannot surpass Kante.
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