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Koulibaly must reverse slide down Potter’s pecking order

By Matt Law

Kalidou Koulibaly was the first to admit he would need time to adjust to life at Chelsea, but he can no longer count on being the top pick of the head coach.

Insiders say Thomas Tuchel was the driving force behind Koulibaly’s arrival. That is not to say that others at Chelsea doubted him, but it was the German who was adamant that the 31-year-old was the man to replace Antonio Rudiger. Koulibaly, then at Napoli, was ranked among Serie A’s best-performing defenders – alongside a certain Fikayo Tomori.

Chelsea were cautioned by outsiders about Koulibaly’s age and the fact that clubs including Manchester United and Liverpool had not followed through on interest in him, but Tuchel was determined that his experience, character and physicality made him the perfect fit.

But while Tomori will make his first Stamford Bridge return as an AC Milan player in the Champions League tonight, Koulibaly cannot be so certain of his position at Chelsea following the appointment of Graham Potter as Tuchel’s successor.

Koulibaly, who cost £34 million, did not sound like a man who expected to start against the Italians when he spoke yesterday, but insisted he had no regrets over leaving the Serie A leaders.

“I’m very happy to be here,” he said. “I know my moment will come and when it does I will be 100 per cent ready to give my best. I spoke with people who told me it would be difficult and the pace is a little bit different from Italian football, but I’m going through a process which is normal.”

Albeit only two games into Potter’s reign, Koulibaly is yet to play a single minute for the head coach. “I’ve been really impressed with him,” Potter said. “As a person, he is honest, understands his situation in terms of having to wait a bit to play. Then it’s how you respond and his response has been fantastic.”

Potter is not the only one to have been impressed by the attitude of Koulibaly. But, a brilliant goal against Tottenham Hotspur apart, Koulibaly struggled in his six Chelsea appearances under Tuchel, which included a red card in the 3-0 defeat by Leeds United.

“It’s a new system for me, 3-5-2, so I have to adapt everything,” Koulibaly had said at his unveiling. “I will take my time and in two or three months, I will be the one everyone is waiting for.”

Two months have passed, but Koulibaly can no longer be certain of needing to adapt to a three-man defence. Potter picked Marc Cucurella, who is available again tonight, ahead of him on the left side of a back three against Salzburg, but then reverted to a back four, with Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana in the centre, for the victory over Crystal Palace.

The fact Chelsea remain interested in taking defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig suggests there will be more competition for places in future, although 38-year-old Silva will be out of contract in the summer.

Plenty of overseas defenders have overcome bumpy starts in England, which is why it would be foolish to write off Koulibaly so soon. But we are still waiting to see “the one everyone is waiting for”.

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2022-10-05T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-05T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://dailytelegraph.pressreader.com/article/281646784029505

Daily Telegraph