Thomas Tuchel hailed N’Golo Kante as one of the best players on the planet – but insists Chelsea must solve his injury problems next season.
The France international started for the first time in five games against Leicester on Thursday in an injury-disrupted campaign.
Tuchel described it was a “miracle” that Chelsea have managed to finish third, despite Kante’s lengthy absences – and made it clear that they must get him on the pitch more often if they are to have any chance of challenging Manchester City and Liverpool next term.
The 1-1 draw was Kante’s 20th start in the league this season. Tuchel said: “He is our key, key, key player - but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch. He plays only 40 percent of the games then it is maybe a miracle that we arrive in third place.
“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 and Kylian Mbappe. He is that guy who makes the difference and if you only have him for 40 per cent then it is a huge problem.
“Giving that percentage it is maybe a miracle that he produces results. It puts everything into perspective as I saw Liverpool without Van Dijk last season and they struggled heavily. You see the difference. N’Golo is our key player and we need him on the pitch.”
Kante has suffered a host of injuries this season, including knee and groin problems, as well as two bouts of Covid. He has one more season to run on his contract at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel added: “It is hard to live with because it is important for him to be there and have the rhythm. I think he played okay, but he can play so much better. But when was his last game he started? It was weeks ago.
“So he is constantly getting rhythm and once he gets rhythm he gets an injury and is out again. Imagine last year in the last five matches of the Champions League he got the [Man of the Match] trophy. They handed him the trophy before the match. It was clear when he plays, he’s man of the match.
“This guy who gets man of the match in every Champions League game, he is only here for 40 something per cent of the matches. This is huge for us.
“We do everything to solve it. Of course him as well. I don’t blame him, it is just a concern and a fact that we miss him a lot because he brings something that is unique in world football and he has that ability to lift everybody up and make that difference. This is the challenge for him and for us.
“But I can only repeat myself. He can make the difference, but he can only make the difference if you are on the pitch and on your top level. This is our target for him and he anyway does everything. He is one of the very best. He is one of the very best midfielders in the world.”
