The increasingly interesting Ryan O’Hanlon:
Since the 1-0 loss to Manchester United in the middle of September, Leicester have won 12, drawn one and lost three. Their performances have kicked into a much higher gear, too: They’ve created 29.9 expected goals and conceded just 20.5. At the heart of it all, Ndidi has been an absolute machine. Leicester average more possession than all but 13 teams across England, Italy, Spain and Germany’s top flights. Part of that is because Ndidi is able to keep winning them the ball back, but that also means there are fewer opportunities for him to make defensive plays.
Watching Leicester till October, I felt they weren’t playing the football that Brendan Rodgers truly wanted. Ryan is right to highlight the tactical change that has enabled the Foxes to come closer to Rodgers' vision, while deservedly crediting Ndidi’s role in the change.
I find the parallels that Ryan makes between Ndidi and Kante interesting. Are they the same type of player? Kante’s importance in Leicester’s title win is undisputed. However, Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes didn’t treasure possession, or at least they weren’t reliant on dominating the ball. Rodgers (and to an extent, Claude Puel before him) places a different emphasis on his midfielders, with vertical passing and ingenuity at its core. This is not to say that Kante can’t play in a Rodgers team. After all Frank Lampard has maintained Maurizio Sarri’s progressive take on Kante’s role in Chelsea’s midfield. I am just not sure Ndidi’s brilliance needs to be looked at through the prism of Kante’s role before him.