Mohamadou Kante received a starting position in the round of 16 against Brentford, where the Frenchman played a vital role in helping the Hammers advance into the quarter finals for the first time in ten years.

The Frenchman seemed to impress after his seemingly underwhelming performance against Burton last time out, but once again, Nuno’s choices have proved to be correct and something that should be applauded. Many fans would’ve been questioned as to why Kante started over the likes of Magassa or Potts, but what goes on behind the scenes isn’t always made known, and Kante must’ve been doing something correct that we haven’t been made aware of.

Nuno’s tricky triangles worked hand in hand with Kante’s playstyle. The Frenchman seemed everywhere down the left-hand side of the pitch, complemented beautifully with Soucek in the sweeper role, as well as Fernandes and Traore, who were there to pick up the forward pass or the pieces.

Kante’s defensive ability was incredibly impressive for someone classed as a ‘rookie’, he finished his time on the pitch winning all of his tackles and aerial duels and wasn’t dribbled past the entire match! Given how strong that Brentford side was and how it was practically their starting squad, a side that is fighting for European football this season, it seriously demonstrates how impressive it was.

West Ham have accumulated numerous midfielders at this moment in time, all of which are young, bar the veteran Tomas Soucek, but all are fighting for positions. Upon arriving at the academy, many people encouraged Kante to rise up the ranks into the first team straight away, as he looked dominant in the U21s. That level of performance has finally been demonstrated on the big stage and what a way to do it.

Kante will certainly play a big part for the remainder of the season, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he’s to be used more as the backend of the season closes in.