Why Koulibaly doesn’t regret Chelsea transfer
Suraj Radia
- 4 Oct 2022 21:16 BST
- 3 min read
Kalidou Koulibaly admits he has no regrets over his move to Chelsea despite his lack of game time under new manager Graham Potter.
Koulibaly joined the Blues from Napoli in the summer but has failed to feature in any of Potter’s first two games, having started every game he was available for under previous boss Thomas Tuchel.
However, the Senegalese international admitted it was the right time to leave Napoli and insisted that he was happy at Chelsea in spite of the patchy start to his career in England.
“I knew that after eight years, my time at Napoli was over,” he said. “When one of the best clubs in the world calls, you can’t wait.
“I did all I could to join Chelsea. I will forever be grateful to Napoli and Naples. My children were born there and it’s the place where I’ve become a man and a footballer, but it was time to change.”
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Koulibaly patiently waiting for his chance
Koulibaly netted on his home debut against Tottenham but followed that up with a sending off in Chelsea’s loss against Leeds and he has now found himself on the bench, with Potter opting for a back four instead of the three centre-back formation used by Tuchel.
Speaking to Chelsea’s club website, Koulibaly was calm over his absence and believes he will eventually get a chance to prove his worth to Potter while he adapts to English football.
‘It is true that I didn’t play yet with the new manager but I am just easy,’ he explained. ‘I know that my time will come, we have a lot of games.
🗣 "I've been really impressed with him. He'll play an important role for us, that's for sure"
Graham Potter explains why Kalidou Koulibaly is yet to play a minute under him at Chelsea pic.twitter.com/z1NmXTK9kW— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 4, 2022
"I was expecting it like this, I knew that it would be difficult, even some of the best coaches in the world said so, because everybody knows that to go from Italy to England is difficult. But I knew that so I was ready to take on this challenge.
"It is true that the pace is a little bit different to Italian football but I’m really happy to be here, I’m really happy to be part of the Premier League, because it was one of my dreams to play here in English football and today I’m here so I’m really happy."
