Chelsea targeting “special” England star who could be their new Kante

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We all know Chelsea have been active in the transfer market the past few years, making 12 signings last summer for around £388m, and making 11 new signings this summer for roughly £199.5m.

But with Enzo Maresca’s side getting off to a good start this season, sitting fourth in the Premier League after seven games played, winning four, drawing two and only losing once, there may be less need for upheaval in January or even next summer.

This could see Chelsea make fewer dealings in the market, but some more precise ones, bringing in a couple of players in positions of need, to improve their chances of competing on all fronts.

One of those areas could be midfield, despite large spending on the likes of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and Roméo Lavia.

Chelsea monitoring England international

According to reports from Caught Offside, Chelsea are monitoring England international, and Lille midfielder, Angel Gomes.

Manchester United also seem to be interested in the 24-year-old, having let him go back in 2020, whilst Tottenham and Newcastle are among the other clubs showing interest.

Kane-Rico-Lewis-Angel-Gomes-Anthony-Gordon-Saka-Konsa-Pickford-Grealish

Chelsea allegedly had the chance to sign Gomes when he first left Old Trafford, although at the time there were some reservations from those at Stamford Bridge.

Their new N’Golo Kante

Gomes was labelled a “special” player early on in his Lille career, with Jocelyn Gourvennec providing a summary of the player after just four or five days of seeing him.

Despite being just 5 foot 6, the English midfielder oozes technical quality, allowing him to play among the best in the world, so much so that England specifically looked for a player with his attributes.

The 24-year-old has made 123 appearances for Lille in all competitions since joining the club, scoring nine goals, providing 19 assists, and totalling 8,259 minutes played.

But it isn’t his goals and assists he is judged on, instead his ability to recycle play, progress through the lines, and dictate the tempo of a game. As such, he could be their new N’Golo Kante.

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Since Kante left the club in 2023, Chelsea have been rebuilding their midfield to replace him with the signings of Caicedo, Fernandez and Lavia.

However, the Chelsea legend is no easy feat to replace, having made 269 appearances for the Blues, scoring 13 goals and providing 16 assists.

Much like Gomes, Kante wasn’t judged on his goals or assists, but his overall impact in midfield, winning duels, carrying the ball forwards, offering passing options in central areas, and being a consistent presence in the game for Chelsea.

Gomes vs Kante (22/23) comparison
Stats (per 90 mins)	Gomes	Kante
Goals	0.15	0.07
Assists	0.30	0.18
Progressive Carries	2.13	3.44
Progressive Passes	6.38	8.07
Passes Attempted	45.3	65.0
Pass Completion %	83.1%	85.9%
Passes into Final Third	2.55	5.33
Key Passes	2.13	1.39
Tackles	0.85	2.83
Blocks	0.21	1.89
Interceptions	0.45	1.55
Stats taken from FBref

Positionally, Kante and Gomes occupy similar areas, sitting in front of the defensive unit, looking to shuttle play and break things up when it comes back their way. Paul McGinness, one of the United academy star’s former coaches, sums things up nicely, comparing the Chelsea target to a player of Kante’s high-standards; Rodri.

“Someone who has those skills to receive the ball with their back to goal to start the play and keep control. We’ve seen Rodri do it for Spain and Man City. That’s one profile that we would be trying to promote within our country to try and improve. We searched within the FA to try and improve that type of midfield player. That’s the type of player Angel is.”

That said, Kante and Gomes do thrive in different aspects of the game. While the newly capped England international is far more centred around his on-ball qualities, the Frenchman had an excellent blend, often praised more for his defensive output which is also backed up by the metrics.

The former Chelsea ace massively outperforms Gomes in defensive actions per 90, whilst also having better passing metrics apart from key passes.

A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.

This shows Gomes is still looking to play those killer balls, get himself assists, and create chances with riskier passing in an attempt to show his extensive passing range and creativity.

If Gomes was signed by Chelsea, he would likely have someone like Caicedo next to him, to help with that defensive output, allowing him to flex his on-ball qualities, dictate play, and create chances in that deep-lying playmaker role.