Kalidou Koulibaly is certain that he will convince Graham Potter that he merits a position in Chelsea’s new administration.
The Senegalese defender was brought in as the perfect replacement for the departing Antonio Rudiger, who departed Stamford Bridge to join Real Madrid, in a £34 million deal from Napoli over the summer.
Thomas Tuchel, the Blues manager at the time, thought Koulibaly’s experience was crucial, but the 31-year-old has struggled to adapt to the Premier League and has subsequently seen Tuchel dismissed from his position and replaced by Graham Potter.
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Potter decided not to start Koulibaly in his debut game in charge and instead started club captain Cesar Azpilicueta in a back three with Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella.
The center-back, who has lauded Potter’s work in his first weeks at the club and insisted that he understands his new manager’s decision, has vowed to show Potter that he is worthy of a spot in the first squad.
The new coach brought some good suggestions. He is a true coach. He spoke with Le Quotidien.
He made some positive contributions to Brighton. He is now Chelsea’s manager.
He follows rules and has expectations. It’s up to me to exercise patience, to prove that I deserve to play, and to demonstrate throughout practice that the coach can put his trust in me.
“In contrast to this, there will be no issue.” Since we are still in the early going, the coach will likely turn to players who are accustomed to playing for Chelsea and have been there for a very long period.
“There won’t be any issues, I’ll play again when I’m at 100%.”
Koulibaly hasn’t found it easy to adapt to the Premier League; despite scoring on his home debut for Chelsea, he later received a red card in the Blues’ loss to Leeds.
He claims, though, that leaving Serie A was an easy choice and that he doesn’t look back on his transfer to Stamford Bridge.
You know, it’s a life choice, she continued. I desired to switch clubs. I thought I had given Napoli everything. I reached a point in my life where I wanted to make changes, push myself, and take on fresh challenges.
Chelsea arrived, and I made my decision quickly. They are among the top five clubs in the world, have a distinguished past, and are a group of winners.
As a result, I’ll always be grateful to them for everything they offered me. I believed it was now time to learn something new.
“It was a very positive thing for me to sign with Chelsea.” Being there makes me very happy. I had to relocate to London for eight years, so at first it was a little challenging. It’s a challenge that’s quite difficult.
“I need to choose a school and adjust to life in London.” When I got to London, I was able to locate my house and my children’s school. I’m relieved to have my bearings now.
After the intermission, Chelsea will resume play as they travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace in Potter’s first Premier League game as manager.