I Will Not Reconsider N’Golo Kante’s Position – Sarri

Maurizio Sarri has said he will not reconsider N’Golo Kante’s position in Chelsea’s midfield but criticised the France international for losing his discipline in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat by Tottenham.

The debate over Kante’s role under Sarri intensified after the Spurs defeat, with many suggesting that Chelsea will never be defensively solid as long as Jorginho operates at the base of midfield in place of the ex-Leicester man.

Kante’s rate of tackles and interceptions have plummeted this season as he operates higher up the pitch in Sarri’s 4-3-3 system, but Sarri said that Chelsea’s midfield problems against Tottenham were not rooted in tactics.

“I think, as you know, I want to play a central midfielder as a very technical player — Jorginho or [Cesc] Fabregas,” the ex-Napoli boss said. “I don’t want Kante in this position.

“And I think this is not one of the best characteristics of Kante, but it was only a reaction to the difficulties [of the team].”

Sarri also hinted it may be possible that Kante — who last week signed a new five-year contract making him Chelsea’s highest-paid player on around £290,000-a-week — does not yet understand what his manager is asking him to do.

“Maybe. Maybe it’s only a question of time,” Sarri replied when asked if that was the case. “But Kante has to stay near to Jorginho, especially when the ball is on the other side.

“When the ball is on the left, he has to stay very close to Jorginho.”

Olivier Giroud, Kante’s teammate for club and country, has no doubt that his fellow World Cup winner will get on Sarri’s wavelength sooner rather than later.

“I think N’Golo can play every single position in midfield,” he said. “In the manager’s philosophy, how he wants us to play, Jorginho is the holding midfielder or Cesc — that’s a very important part of our game.

“Maybe in the manager’s mind, N’Golo is more efficient playing that position box to box. He can be more efficient carrying the ball, finding passes between the lines.

“Obviously we know how fast he is. When he recovers the ball, he can penetrate the lines. That’s one of his main strengths as well. It’s a good position for him.

“He maybe needs to be more selfish around the box when he has the opportunity to shoot. I’m pretty sure he will score more goals. We know it’s not his main strength, but he’s very important for us in recovering the ball. He’s everywhere.

“We don’t need to question his position. He just needs to adapt to what the manager wants.”