"I think he is our key, key, key player," he said. "But key, key, key players need to be on the pitch, and he has played only 40 per cent of the games, so it is maybe a miracle that we arrive in third place."
These were the words of Thomas Tuchel during the penultimate post-match press conference of last season. Chelsea had just drew 1-1 with Leicester in a contest that slipped the memory as soon as it concluded. The only memorable part of that evening was arguably this quote and John Cena appearing in the same Directors Box as Todd Boehly.
"He is simply that player, the guy who makes the difference, and if you only have him 40 per cent of the time, it's a huge problem."
"Given that percentage, it's maybe a miracle how consistently we produced results, and it puts everything into perspective because I saw Liverpool last season without Van Dijk, and they struggled heavily."
READ MORE: Two Chelsea stars miss pre-season training as Thomas Tuchel follows Antonio Conte blueprint
The player Tuchel was referring to was N'Golo Kante. The statement slightly jarred with the general conversation surrounding Kante in the previous weeks as the midfielder's usually high standards had dipped. His usually transformative traits that altered the course of games had dwindled.
Most notable was that five days before Tuchel's comments, the 30-year-old sat out the FA Cup Final starting lineup against Liverpool. Instead, Mateo Kovacic, with a swollen ankle, was preferred alongside Jorginho. A scenario that would have seemed unthinkable 12 months earlier when Kante won multiple man-of-the-match awards in the Champions League-winning run.
"You see the difference. N'Golo is our key player, and he needs to be on the pitch."
Tuchel would've wanted Kante out in the LA for Chelsea's pre-season preparations, but he's not. Due to Kante's COVID-19 vaccination status, he and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are sitting at home, waiting for the Udinese game on the 29th of July, when they are likely to return. Unless the club organise another friendly before the trip to Goodison Park on the 6th of August, Kante will only have one game with the senior squad before the serious stuff kicks in.
Arguably for some, the lack of match intensity for Kante could be viewed as a positive. Given his persistent injury issues across the past three years, protecting Kante has become a greater priority, but that strategy in the first half of last season did not seem to produce Kante's best in the second half when bigger games arose.
And as was the retort to Tuchel's dramatic quotes at the time, how can you refer to a player as "key" when his availability has become so fragile? Although Kante, at his best, can be compared to the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Virgil van Dijk and Kevin De Bruyne for his influence, a lot of those names mentioned have proved more durable for their clubs.
In LA, without Kante and with his contract running into its final year, Tuchel needs to start planning ahead for the future of Chelsea's midfield. This could prove a blessing in disguise and the opening of a door for the likes of Ethan Ampadu and Billy Gilmour, both of whom could fill that deeper midfield spot in a pivot or a trio.
Kante has been Chelsea's superstar, but this latest setback further plays into the constant uncertainty over what he can provide in the biggest moments. In a summer of big questions, this is probably one Tuchel did not need.
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