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It is no longer news that Kalidou Koulibaly has joined Chelsea from Napoli and former Blues manager Rafa Benitez believes the 31-year-old could struggle to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League following his move.
The Senegal international is likely to replace new Real Madrid signing Antonio Rudiger at the heart of Thomas Tuchel’s defensive unit, but Benitez, who managed the player at Napoli, fears Koulibaly’s adaptation process is unlikely to be a smooth one.
He told The Athletic: ‘He must improve his concentration at times.
‘He can be guilty of losing focus and can be overconfident, but he has been hugely influential at Napoli and people I know and trust have told me that he has been the best centre-back in Italy during this time.
‘This season will be the Premier League for him and he could be fine for the way that Tuchel wants to play. He has similarities with Rudiger — he is very good at running with the ball, and he’s good with both feet.
‘Is he a little bit too nice? We will see what happens at Chelsea. As I said, in Italy he was fine because he was so quick, but I doubt he will be so dominant over here.
‘Aerial ability wasn’t his biggest strength but in Italy, that mattered a bit less and he was ok.
‘It will be interesting to see how that develops in the Premier League but he was always very keen to learn. He spent time with me and my staff after training sessions to work on his heading and improving his technique.’
This article was updated 1 year ago