Cast your eyes back to Leicester’s miraculous rise to the top last season and there are two players who immediately spring to mind: Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. This is understandable given that they scored the most goals and got the most assists, grabbing all the headlines in the process. Yet, there was one player in their title-winning side who, while his impact was certainly recognised, deserves more plaudits than any other: N’Golo Kanté.
Being bought by Chelsea for £32m in the summer certainly justified his performances, and Leicester’s poor start to the season has largely been because they are missing his presence in midfield. What made him so good is that he did the ‘dirty work’ for the team; the tracking back, making interceptions and hassling attackers before they reached the defence. This is exactly what West Ham have seen from Pedro Obiang in the last two games.
I’m certainly not saying that Obiang can lead West Ham on a title charge. Indeed, Obiang isn’t the player defensively that Kanté is – Kanté does the work of two defensive midfielders most of the time. But he makes up for this with his attacking ability – more specifically, his range of passing and ability to control the game. Noble was fantastic at it last season, but hasn’t lived up to those standards so far this season. It is the sort of player who Payet and Lanzini need behind them so they know they can venture forward and have someone reliable to pick them out and set up attacks for them, rather than them having to come all the way back to their own half to begin an attack.
The fact that Slaven Bilic and the West Ham fan’s are finally seeing Obiang’s potential is fantastic for the club. Before he came to London, he was rated as one of the brightest midfield prospects in Europe. He had nearly 150 Serie A appearances by the age of 22 – he’s still only 24 now. He’s also been capped by Spain throughout the youth levels and was – and presumably still is – expected to continue that progress into the main team.
West Ham have a gem on their hands, and it’s only beginning to shine after collecting dust for the past two years. Obiang could be the vital pillar in midfield and his performances will hopefully invigorate West Ham in their push to get back to where they belong in the table.
