Finding Mason Mount's Best Position

"Show me who your holding midfielder is and I'll tell you what kind of team you've got." Those words of Juanma Lillo, who mentored Pep Guardiola during his time at Dorados de Sinaloa and who currently works as the Catalan's assistant at Manchester City, still ring true today. The midfielder -- be it a holding midfielder, box-to-box midfielder, or attacking midfielder -- is the heart and brain of a team, and in many cases, he personifies the manager's philosophy and tactical approach to the game.

During his legendary spell in charge of Barcelona, Sergio Busquets became renowned as the metronome of Guardiola's tiki-taka-infused, possession-based style of football. Like Guardiola in his playing days, Busquets was a smooth operator who could evade the opponent with one carefully plotted roulette, and he helped set the tone for Barcelona's dominance from 2008 to 2012.

It comes as no surprise that Antonio Conte's second signing at Chelsea was N'Golo Kanté, who, like Conte during his time at Juventus, is a tenacious, energetic willingness to win the ball and launch the counter-attack. It certainly isn't a coincidence that Conte spent the entirety of last summer's transfer window trying to purchase Kanté for his side; Inter are desperately lacking the kind of dynamism and aggression that the Frenchman provides.