Maurizio Sarri has made an impressive start to his debut stint as a manager in England, winning each of his first four Premier League games. The Italian has inherited a squad from Antonio Conte, that won the league title in his first season at the club. Chelsea did lose the likes of Diego Costa from the title-winning team but spent on a more than able replacement in Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard seems a better fit to Sarri’s system than he was to Conte’s.
The addition of Jorginho in the summer has also made Chelsea that much stronger. But it might be the man brought in on loan, Mateo Kovacic, who we believe could make the difference this season.
One of the most gifted footballers in Europe, Kovacic struggled for game time at Los Blancos and joined the Blues on a season-long loan this summer. He played just half an hour against Arsenal and his impressive outing in that game has seen him start the last two games for the Blues.
An excellent dribbler, with superb vision and technique to execute a pass, Kovacic is a midfield anchor who can act as the bridge between the defence and the attack. He loves to have the ball at his feet and commands the area in the middle of the park. He can dribble past opponents with ease and can also set up half chances for his side, adding some creativity to the midfield.
However, the Blues are criticised for the lack of goals from their midfield. Jorginho is a defensive midfielder, who loves to sit back and control the game. N’Golo Kante, playing in a slightly advanced role from the previous season, is not one to find the back of the net regularly. So it is up to the Croatian midfielder to add some extra numbers to their attack.
A comparison between the heat zones for Kovacic’s last few games for Real Madrid and the first few for Chelsea shows that he is given a significantly greater chance to make an impact in the final third. The 24-year-old has a passing accuracy of 94% after 189 minutes of league action in England. He also averages 1.7 key passes per game, a figure he failed to achieve in any of his seasons in La Liga.
He has taken two shots per game and has completed one dribble every game. He also manages to make three tackles and 1.3 clearances per game, showing his defensive prowess.
He may not be a creative midfielder who can score goals regularly, but the way Kovacic has managed to make an impact at both ends of the field, in a midfield that compliments him well, is what makes Chelsea strong contenders for silverware this season.
It is a shame that Sarri has not managed to add an option to make Kovacic’s move permanent to Chelsea next summer. Going by the first few games, it might end up being the Croatian, who makes the difference in crunch games for the Blues.
Stat Credit: Whoscored.com
