Mohamadou Kante’s eventful afternoon against Millwall offered West Ham another important indication of where the young midfielder can have the biggest impact.
The 21-year-old was introduced at half-time with West Ham trailing 2-0 and immediately helped change the balance of the midfield. He went on to score the goal that sparked the comeback, only to see his afternoon end prematurely when he was shown a red card after losing possession and fouling Kyrell Lisbie.
The dismissal was undoubtedly a disappointing moment, but it should not take away from the encouraging contribution Kante made before it. For the first time in several weeks, Nuno Espirito Santo appeared to use him in a position that naturally suited his strengths.
West Ham have previously deployed Kante as a No.10 and on the left side, but neither role appeared to bring out the best in the French midfielder. Against Millwall, however, he operated centrally in a three-man midfield after Nuno switched to a 3-5-2 formation.
That change allowed Kante to play much closer to the type of role his performances and statistical numbers suggest could suit him best.
Kante finally given freedom to attack
Nuno’s tactical adjustment at the break was initially designed to give West Ham greater numbers in midfield.
The Hammers had struggled badly during the opening half as Millwall dominated physically and competed aggressively for second balls. Arne Engels and Divine Mukasa found it difficult to establish control as the hosts repeatedly turned the derby into a physical battle.
Kyle Walker-Peters and Joel Piroe were withdrawn, with Pablo and Kante coming on. West Ham moved away from their 4-4-2 shape and adopted a 3-5-2, placing Kante alongside Engels and Mukasa in central midfield.
The impact was almost immediate.
Kante came close to scoring after the restart when Filip Marschall failed to hold Jarrod Bowen’s effort. He eventually found the net in the 74th minute, firing into the bottom corner from approximately 25 yards.
Six minutes later, Konstantinos Mavropanos completed the comeback by making it 2-2. Before Kante was sent off, West Ham had begun to look like the team more likely to find a winner.
Kante’s biggest attacking quality appears to be his ability to become dangerous once West Ham have already progressed possession into advanced areas.
Rather than being responsible for creating attacks from scratch, he is at his best when he can carry the momentum forward, attack spaces in front of him and make late runs towards the penalty area.
A box-to-box role gives him the opportunity to do exactly that.
Kante has now scored three Championship goals from just 377 minutes this season. That makes him West Ham’s third-highest league scorer and puts him joint-eighth among the division’s leading scorers, despite starting only four of the club’s first eight league matches.
His current scoring rate of around 0.72 goals per 90 minutes is remarkable, although the sample size is far too small to suggest he can maintain that figure throughout the campaign.
Nevertheless, the manner in which he has scored those goals provides clues about the areas in which he can be most effective.
Bolton highlighted the limitations of using him as a No.10
West Ham’s victory at Bolton provided an interesting contrast.
Nuno deployed Kante as the attacking midfielder behind Pablo in the 3-2 victory, effectively asking him to connect the midfield with the striker.
Kante completed the entire match and managed two attempts on goal, but created just one chance. FBref listed his starting position as attacking midfield rather than the deeper midfield positions he had occupied against Burnley, Charlton and Watford.
His work rate and willingness to attack were not the issue.
Kante regularly attempted to make runs beyond Pablo and provided another physical threat around the box. However, he did not consistently display the qualities normally expected from a traditional No.10, such as receiving between the lines, turning under pressure and producing the final pass to release attacking teammates.
That does not necessarily mean those qualities are weaknesses in his game. It simply suggests they are not currently the areas where Kante can have the greatest influence.
Playing him so high up the pitch meant he often arrived in attacking positions too early. Instead of starting from midfield and building momentum before bursting forward, he was already positioned in advanced areas and depended on teammates to find him.
The same problem appeared during the Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham.
Kante was again moved away from his natural central position, this time spending periods on the left as Nuno rotated his squad. He played the full match and was involved in the sequence that ended with Oscar Bobb scoring Fulham’s winning goal after Kante lost possession.
However, the bigger issue was the tactical fit rather than simply one individual error.
West Ham were effectively asking a central midfielder to perform the duties of a specialist attacking player.
Millwall provided the opposite approach.
A box-to-box role could unlock Kante
Kante has already demonstrated that he is capable of operating in deeper midfield positions.
He played centrally against Burnley and was used as a defensive midfielder against Charlton and Watford. However, keeping him strictly in a holding role could also prevent West Ham from benefiting fully from his attacking instincts.
His three goals in 377 Championship minutes suggest that his ability to contribute in the final third should not simply be ignored.
The most effective solution could therefore sit somewhere between using him purely as a defensive midfielder and asking him to become a No.10.
Deploying Kante as one of three central midfielders gives him defensive duties while allowing him to use his strength, athleticism and ability to win possession. More importantly, it gives him permission to surge forward once West Ham regain the ball.
That was exactly what happened against Millwall.
Engels was able to focus on controlling possession, Mukasa offered an outlet for progression, while Kante supplied the physical presence and forward running that had been missing during the first half.
Rather than asking Kante to become a traditional No.10, the system allowed him to make the late arrivals into attacking areas that a No.10 would typically occupy.
It could also provide Nuno with another tactical option against Championship teams that attempt to overpower West Ham physically.
The technical qualities of Engels and Mukasa remain important to West Ham’s midfield, but games like the Millwall derby demonstrate that there may be occasions when Kante’s athleticism and physicality provide a better balance in the middle of the pitch.
West Ham have now experimented with Kante in several different positions.
His role behind the striker at Bolton placed too much emphasis on his creative abilities, while his deployment on the left against Fulham removed him from the central areas where his physical attributes can be most effective.
At Millwall, however, West Ham saw a version of Kante that looked much closer to his natural game.
He drove the team forward, attacked the penalty area, showed his strength and scored the goal that helped bring West Ham back into the derby.
After several weeks of experimentation, Nuno may have found a much simpler answer to the Kante question.
Rather than turning him into a No.10 or pushing him out wide, West Ham could simply allow Mohamadou Kante to develop into the powerful, energetic box-to-box midfielder his performances are beginning to suggest he can become.
West Ham fans will love what Mohamadou Kante did at Millwall as Nuno gets major tactical clue
