Thomas Tuchel urgues current Chelsea player is a bigger legend than Didier Drogba
N’Golo Kante, according to Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, is a bigger legend at Stamford Bridge than Didier Drogba.
Kante, 31, has been a standout performer for the Blues since signing in 2016 but remains underappreciated despite winning the Premier League and Champions League with the club.
Meanwhile, Drogba is regarded as a Chelsea legend, having won three league titles and a Champions League as the club’s main striker between 2005 and 2010.
Tuchel, on the other hand, believes Kante’s career in west London deserves more attention and believes the Frenchman has been instrumental in the club’s recent success.
Asked if Kante should be spoken of alongside Drogba, Tuchel stated: “For sure, but because he is not that obvious, he is not in the spotlight, he is even more important for a team because a guy like N’Golo with the mentality of a helper, a water carrier, this makes the difference and big teams and successful teams need this.
“That’s why we love him so much, and everybody wants to play with him and why we miss him so much when he is not there.”
Kante rose to attention after helping Leicester City win the Premier League title in 2016.
The following year, he joined Chelsea, who beat out Arsenal for his signature.
Kante, who is out of contract next summer, has made 259 appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals and winning four major championships.
This season, he has missed more than half of Chelsea’s games due to a variety of injuries.
Due to Kante’s absences, the Blues are expected to finish third in the league but have crawled over the line, with Tuchel characterising securing a Champions League spot as a “miracle.”
He added: “I think he is our key, key, key player; but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch.
“He plays only 40 per cent of the games. So it’s maybe a miracle that we arrived in third place.
“Because he is our Mo Salah, he is our (Virgil) Van Dijk, he is our (Kevin) De Bruyne, he is simply that player.
“He is our Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappe; he is the guy who makes the difference.”
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Thomas Tuchel urgues current Chelsea player is a bigger legend than Didier Drogba
