Remember when Oriol Romeu was the answer to Chelsea’s deep-lying midfielder problems?
It really happened, we promise.
The Spaniard was becoming a fixture in the first team under André Villas-Boas in the 2011/12 season. But then he got injured. Then Villas-Boas got sacked. Then he got frozen out.
Romeu played just 11 times for Chelsea after AVB’s departure, and eventually moved on to Southampton, where he is starting to rediscover his form under Claude Puel.
At leas he was, until he encountered N’Golo Kanté – the real answer to Chelsea’s deep-lying midfielder problems.
175/156 – N'Golo Kanté made more tackles (175) and interceptions (156) than any other player in the @premierleague last season. Coveted.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 13, 2016
Kanté was one of Leicester’s stars as the Foxes won the Premier League title last season, and his £32m move to Stamford Bridge is already looking like a bargain compared to some of the other summer Premier League transfers.
And, while we knew all about the French international’s tackling, running and ball-carrying, he had less of an opportunity last season to show off his fleet-footedness.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have it in his locker, though, as Romeu found out to his detriment.
During Chelsea’s 2-0 win at St Mary’s Kanté produced a turn so devastating it left his opponent with broken ankles and twisted blood, and if you look closely you can even see Romeu’s soul begin to leave his body.
It’s that good.
We know how these things work.
Romeu will retreat into a hole, destined to live out the rest of his career in the underground bunker reserved for all forgotten Chelsea youngsters.
Soon we’ll see him descend a series of tunnels to converse with Josh McEachran, Liam Bridcutt and Gaël Kakuta about the good old days.
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