Kante success can inspire Pogba to live up to his price tag
N’GOLO KANTE’S presence on the PFA Player of the Year shortlist alongside glamour boys Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic underlines that defensive midfield players are no longer dismissed as water- carriers, the famous phrase Eric Cantona used for France’s World Cup-winning captain Didier Deschamps.
Kante’s appearance for Premier League leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford today will also draw comparisons with Paul Pogba, who signed for Manchester United in a world-record £89million deal three weeks after Antonio Conte nabbed Kante for a third of the price.
While Chelsea arrive in the north-west as champions-elect thanks largely to Kante, United sit outside the top four and Pogba has just had to deal with more criticism after missing a key chance against Anderlecht in the Europa League on Thursday.
It was Mourinho’s dream to pair them together at United — his updated version of the great Claude Makelele-Michael Essien axis at Chelsea — but that was spoiled by Kante wanting to move to London after winning the title with Leicester City.
Owen Hargreaves, the closest United have come to a Kante, trained with Pogba during his first spell at Old Trafford and is convinced he will end up a major success.
And having suffered himself during his England career for not being the most eye-catching of players, he is glad the importance of players such as Kante is being noted.
‘You have 22 players on the pitch and one ball, so not everyone can have it at their feet,’ he said. ‘Kante is incredibly valuable as the best player in the world out of possession. Nobody who does his job thinks of themselves, ever. The job is to make the team function and give it balance. Kante made everybody better at Leicester and he’s done it at Chelsea too.
‘He understands his role to a fine art and managers love that because they know what they are going to get from him. He can dispossess anyone at any time.’
Privately, Mourinho will echo every word. The Frenchman was on his wishlist last summer but United realised early on the 26-year-old fancied a move to London.
Kante is now odds-on favourite to be chosen by his peers as the PFA Player of the Year, despite the status of the other five attacking candidates; Hazard, Ibrahimovic, Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane.
If he wins, he will be the first holding midfielder to be crowned since Roy Keane in 2000.
Sportingly, Kante’s rival Ibrahimovic, who has 28 goals this season, is glad the midfielder’s contribution is being recognised.
‘I think a player like him would do good everywhere,’ he said. ‘In Kante’s case, he gets a lot of credit for what he is doing. Normally players like that who run a lot don’t get the credit they deserve.’
Mourinho will hope all the praise for Kante will fire up Pogba for a big second season. The hype around him was immense when he returned to United, a club he originally left for Juventus in 2012 having won the FA Youth Cup. But so far he has not been able to dominate games, often playing deep alongsidea Michael CarrickCar or Ander Herrera withoutwi the insurance of a Kante alongside him.
Hargreaves, though, thinks Pogba will go on to justify his price tag.
‘When you think of otherot top midfield players,pla you think of Andr Andrea Pirlo’s passing, Kante’s interceptions, the intelligence of Hazard,’ said Hargreaves, who now works as a pundit for BT Sport. ‘They are all great at one thing. Pogba is very good at everything, he can pass, dribble, control the tempo, sit back and stop people, score goals.’
Hargreaves also dismissed the idea that Pogba has been distracted by his bling image.
‘He’s confident and maybe that irks people. You might not like the outside stuff but that’s not so much him as the times we’re in.
‘I knew him when he was not the famous Paul Pogba during his first spell at United and he’s a super kid. He’s fun and you won’t find anybody that has a bad word to say about his personality.
‘He went to Juventus and made his mark on a massive club. Listen to Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon talk about him, they don’t deny his talent. United have invested a lot in Pogba and have to build around him. End of. The kid is not going away.’