Sign up NOW for our daily Villa newsletter direct to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

N'Golo Kante's name has become synonymous with the defensive midfield position this season, with some suggesting the 'Makelele role' should now be changed to the 'Kante role'.

The £5.6m man has arguably been the buy of the season, dominating matches and starving the attacking stars of the Premier League of the space they crave.

David Silva was neutralised over 180 minutes. Firmino was handled at the King Power Stadium. Martial was marshaled in the meeting with Manchester United.

In the Foxes' last outing at Selhurst Park, Kante won 75% of his tackles and made six interceptions as well as completing 75% of his attempted passes.

Thanks to James Dale (@JamesDale8) from Squawka for alerting us to the stats. Read his piece here

In the previous match against Newcastle, Kante won 70% of his tackles - winning all five in Leicester's defensive third.

The Frenchman made four interceptions against the Magpies - with only Wes Morgan making more with five - and completed 89% of his passes, which were mostly directed towards Marc Albrighton and Riyad Mahrez to hit teams on the counter.

Kante's exploits this season have turned heads and he is certainly regarded as one of the finest defensive midfielders in the league.

But Aston Villa's Idrissa Gana is, statistically, even more solid than the steely Leicester metronome.

Joining the Midlands side with a £9m price tag brings with it an expectation of high-quality performances and although the midfielder has gone somewhat under the radar, his statistics suggest he has delivered.

In addition, the Villans have conceded 58 times in their 31 games - with a goal difference of -36 - so for a holding midfielder to have such an impressive record is nigh on miraculous.

First off, the claret and blue covering man has won 93 tackles in his 28 appearances - second in the league to only Kante who has completed three more in the 30 matches he has played.

In Villa's last match - the 1-0 defeat to Swansea - Gana made 11 successful interceptions, won 80% of his tackles and created a chance for his team-mates.

In the recent defeat to Everton, the Senegalese international won eight tackles and six interceptions and made 83% of his passes - including three key passes in the final third.

Kante's role as the sweeper in front of the back four has allowed Leicester to play their simple brand of quick counter-attacking to a high degree of quality.

Their midfield terrier has made 126 interceptions this season allowing him to release Leicester's attacking flair at break-neck speed.

The Frenchman has made 29 more interceptions than any other player in the Premier Legaue - apart from Gana who has three more than his Midlands counterpart (129).

Some may argue that, as a Villa midfielder, Gana has had to make more challenges than Kante in a high-flying Leicester side, but the stats suggest otherwise.

Both players average six defensive actions per match and have an almost identical passing accuracy - Kante 82% and Gana 85% - though the Foxes' man has created two more chances in the league this season.

The statistics suggest they have to do a similar amount for their respective sides, but Gana comes out on top in many of the categories.

If the Villa man had signed for a different club the figures indicate he could be making as big a name for himself as Kante is at Leicester, but his season has been cast into shadow by the gathering clouds over Villa Park.

If the claret and blues can hold on to their man in the Championship, Gana could well bring the midfield metal required to push Villa back in to the promised land after just one season in the Football League wilderness.

Gregg Evans on David Moyes rumours