Chelsea have had some world class midfielders in their time. 

The likes of Frank Lampard, Roberto Di Matteo and Juan Mata all come to mind, and that's only to name a few of them.

Lampard, of course, is the Blues all-time top goalscorer, netting 211 times in his 13 year Chelsea career.   

Di Matteo formally held the record for the fastest goal in FA Cup final history when he scored against Middlesbrough after 42 seconds in 1997. The record no longer stands, it's now Louis Saha's, but it's

The record no longer stands, it's now Louis Saha's, but it's still an impressive achievement.    

And Mata was an important player, alongside Lampard, in finally bringing the Champions League trophy to Stamford Bridge in 2012.     

They've all done brilliant things in a Chelsea shirt, but there's one man who the title of the clubs best ever midfielder goes to, and that's Claude Makelele.     

The Frenchman was such an influential defensive midfielder, that he's had a position on the pitch named after him.      

The 'Makelele role' is given to a player who's in the centre of the pitch, but playing more defensively than his partner.

Their job is to break up opposition attacks, offering an extra line of protection to the defenders, before setting up their own teams counter.      

When Makelele left Chelsea in 2008, the club struggled to find a player to replace him.      

But in 2015, another Frenchman, N'Golo Kante, landed in the Premier League. He joined Leicester City, a team that finished 14th the season before he joined. 

Less than a year later, they were Premier League champions. 

Antonio Conte made the 26-year-old his number one target and got his man. After another brilliant season, this time at Stamford Bridge, Kante won the league for the second year in a row. 

He was so integral to both of his teams winning seasons, that Makelele now wants his role renamed after his fellow countryman, who plays in the same position. 

"People talk about the Makelele position, but I am old and it is time everybody called it the Kante position. N'Golo deserves that," he told Chelsea's website, as per the Evening Standard

He had even more high praise for Chelsea's number seven, going on to say:

"Every time I watch N'Golo, I see so much desire in him, so much focus and so much determination to make himself a better player with every game."

Could N'Golo Kante win the Premier League three years in a row? Have your say in the comments below.