Tir Na Nog
Changes Opinion Every 5 Minutes
Country: Ireland
If it is any comfort to you Kante fanatics, I see a very similar player in Elneny. Their playstyles and respective roles are pretty similar.
Comparisons to Coq are unwarranted however, they are nothing alike besides in the ball-winning role. Kante is a box-to-box link-up CM that pressures opposition, while Coq is a midfield destroyer that stays back to assure minimal damage from opposing breaks and influences the opposition's passing.
Drinkwater seems to play a lot deeper than Kante which allows Kante a bit more freedom to run all over the pitch, Coquelin HAS to stay just in front of the back four and his job only really becomes evident when the opponent are breaking on us. Their jobs are completely different, Coquelin has to stay as the deepest midfielder because he plays with Cazorla or Ramsey who're both converted attacking midfielders into CMs, neither of which will stay beside him too often as they look to influence the attack.
It's really difficult to suggest if Kante would do a better job than Coq in the role he plays for us because he'd almost always have to do the work of two men with very little license to be the player he is at Leicester. Kante is the type of player who'd probably be ideal to partner Arteta more than anything else. There's no denying he's a great player and he's been a great addition but the comparison are a bit off.