Thomas Tuchel has picked out N'Golo Kante and compared him to Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Virgil van Dijk. The Chelsea boss was speaking after his sides 1-1 draw against Leicester City in their penultimate game of the season.
The Frenchman has been missing for large parts of the season, picking up knocks here and there along with a knee injury which kept him out for almost a month, along with a nagging groin injury.
It's been a disappointing year for the talented box-to-box midfielder, who has been a reliable presence for Chelsea since his signing from Leicester City in 2016.
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The France international, who admittedly hasn't had the best of seasons on a personal note, remains one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League - and Chelsea will expect him to return to that level next season in what will be an important one for Thomas Tuchel's rebuild of the side.
Speaking on missing Kante for parts of the season, Tuchel compared him with some of the top players in world football. He said: "He is our Mo Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Virgil van Dijk... without him, it is a miracle we finish top four."
Kante is out of contract in 2023, with Chelsea reportedly keen to re-up his contract for a number of years - still performing at a high level at the age of 31.
Even with Boehly agreeing on terms for his consortium to become the new ownership of Chelsea, the club still need to attain a licence from the UK Government to return to usual operating terms once the sale is complete and finalised. Once they have that, they can press on with matters formally.
The expiration of the current licence is May 31, and at this stage, it is unclear whether the Government would press on with handing Chelsea permission to return to usual operating terms before the end of the month.
