Football pundit Michael Gray may have risked an open debate by claiming that Fernandinho of Manchester City is just as good as N’Golo Kante of Chelsea.
Kante, has revolutionized the modern day role of a holding midfielder by adding the traits of pace, stamina and pressing on top of the classical characteristics like interceptions, tactical fouling, screening the defence and tackling in midfield. The French midfielder has been at the heart of two English Premier League midfield teams in Chelsea and Leicester City in the last 4 years which has won the title. He was also named the player of the year in England with Chelsea ahead of craftsmen like Hazard and De Bruyne, such was his impact on the league. Earlier this year, Kante went on to become a part of a national team which conquered the World Cup in Russia. Once again, even for France, he was the stand out man in midfield over the likes of Pogba.
However, Gray feels that the job Fernandinho has done for City under Pep Guardiola has gone unnoticed and according to the pundit, Fernandinho is just as good as Kante.
“Look, [Fernandinho is] one of the best,” Gray told talkSPORT. “I put him alongside Kante. I know Kante’s had a lot of plaudits over the last couple of seasons – and rightly so, he’s a phenomenal player in that position. Fernandinho is as good as him. That’s how highly I rate him. He is, there’s no argument about it.”
Fernandinho’s presence in City’s defensive midfield has allowed the players like the Silvas and the De Bruynes to express themselves freely without worrying about leaving their team prone to counter-attacks. The Brazilian is a phenomenal holding midfielder with a brilliant passing range but some might feel Kante remains a shade better as an overall defensive midfielder , given the Frenchman’s ability to adopt to different systems and shine in all of them.
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