Who Is Chelsea's Most Indispensable Player This Season?

If the Premier League table isn't sufficient enough proof as to how dramatically Chelsea's fortunes have changed under Antonio Conte this season, then the talk on the terraces is.

It was this time last year when any debate surrounding the Blues was conducted with a negative tone. Aside from Willian, the discussions were about who should be sold and who wasn't trying hard enough. Chelsea's slump a season after winning their fourth Premier League title hit supporters hard. Any confidence in the team was shredded and they were lashing out.

Fast forward 12 months and the mood is much different. Now the disagreements are about something entirely more positive: Who is Chelsea's most indispensable player?

Conte's side are running away with the title. They're currently 10 points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in second place and have dropped a mere 15 points all season. They have lost just once since October, with the recent 2-1 victory over West Ham chalking up their 21st win in the league.

Chelsea have already broken a club record for successive league wins in a single season this term—13 from October's victory against Hull City right through to the New Year's Eve slaying of Stoke City.

Currently on a two-game winning run, with 11 remaining, if the Blues were to equal their personal best from earlier in the campaign, they would finish 2016/17 on 99 points. That would smash the Premier League's previous record points tally of 95, set by Chelsea in 2004/05.

It's with October to December's record-breaking form in mind that we cast our eyes across to Pedro as being the player who Conte's team can't do without. The Spaniard has been indispensable to Chelsea.

Chelsea fans on Twitter clearly disagree.

When Bleacher Report ran a poll on the subject on the back of the London-derby win over West Ham—with users voting for the usual suspects of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard, N'Golo Kante or someone else—it was Kante who ran away with the popular vote. It's for good reason and understandable, as the diminutive France midfielder has been a revelation this term following his arrival from Leicester City.

Kante allows Chelsea to play the way they have been. His expertise knows no bounds when it comes to stalling opponents; his reading of the game and spotting danger has added a major string to Conte's bow.

We witnessed this much in the build-up to Hazard's opener at the London Stadium. Chelsea turned a West Ham free-kick into an attacking situation with Kante breaking up play before unleashing Hazard to break into the space in behind the Hammers rearguard.

It took seconds from that interception before Hazard was rounding Darren Randolph in goal to slide the ball home into the empty net. Without Kante, the interception would never have happened, but without Pedro, the goal would never have been scored.

His pass back to Hazard after being picked out by his team-mate was sublime. The execution perfect to build on what Kante had already started; it was the style to complement his team-mate's substance.

That's been the story of Chelsea's season, especially from November. In the three months since that time, Pedro has been involved in more goals than any of his team-mates and been key to the momentum from Conte's earlier formation switch continuing.

Pedro has been Chelsea's match-winner—yes, even more so than Costa and Hazard—whereas Kante has helped provide the platform.

It's a chicken and egg situation. But look at it this way: A team full of Kante's will draw more games than it wins, which is the opposite for Pedro. And when we look at any title-winning side, it's a lack of draws that has been their biggest strength.

Drawing matches is the Achilles' heel to success. Chelsea have drawn just three times all season—Pedro has only started one of those draws—which has been the difference between them and those attempting to close the gap in the title race.

By contrast, Spurs have drawn five times, Manchester City four, Liverpool seven, Arsenal five and Manchester United 10. In United's case—which is extreme—the 14 points points their extra seven draws have cost them compared to Chelsea's tally would mean Jose Mourinho's side being well within a shout at the title.

The complexion of the league table would be far different, with United just three points behind Chelsea and with a game in hand. Instead, their seven draws have left United well off the pace to the tune of 17 points. Even with their game in hand, their title hopes have long since been over.

That's the value players such as Pedro bring. Match-winners deliver consistently and when they do it to the levels the Spaniard has, silverware isn't too far behind.

Kante, for how brilliant he is, doesn't offer the same value. It's why attacking talent comes at the inflated premium it does (granted, the anomaly here being that Pedro cost Chelsea £9 million less than the £30 million they paid for Kante last summer).

Even without Kante this season, the way Chelsea have played their football would have seen them win more games than they would have lost. The Conte effect has been staggering. Their defensive supremacy has been about much more than Kante, with the trio of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill proving exceptional.

The wing-backs—Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses—have asked questions in the opposite half. That has given Chelsea valuable territorial dominance, which in turn has affected how teams attack Conte's side.

Kante has without doubt made the Blues a stronger prospect to snuff out the threat. That's helped protect points, but it hasn't won football matches. Pedro's form has.

Even when compared to Costa and Hazard, Pedro has become Chelsea's standout player. At a time when that duo's form has peaked and troughed, the Spaniard has been consistently reliable, scoring big goals when they matter in more recent times.

That has been key to this run of form continuing, even when Chelsea saw their 13-game winning streak end in defeat against Spurs in January.

Pedro's been the most indispensable player in what has proved to be a phenomenal Blues outfit this season. More than that, he's been Chelsea's player of the year.