Fabio Capello sends a wake-up call for Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly
Speaking with Sky Calcio Club (h/t Football.London), former England and Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello sounded off a wake-up call to Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Senegal international signed for the Blues this summer and has had a mixed-bag start to the season in the Premier League. He was sent off against Leeds United and has struggled to acclimatise to the pace of the English top-flight.
Talking about the 2022 AFCON winner and his game, Capello pointed out that the player was doing things all by himself when at Napoli. But in England, his game has to adjust according to the pace at which the matches are passing by.
The Senegal international spent eight years in the Serie A playing for Napoli, and there is a definite change in the speed of the game in Italy compared to England. Capello has brought to notice the change in approach needed to thrive in the Premier League.
I would like to talk about the difficulties of Koulibaly at Chelsea. In Naples, he was doing everything by himself. His problems now depend on the speed with which they play in England. It’s the same pace used by Udinese to give Roma fits. It’s something that must make us Italians reflect.
No doubt Koulibaly’s quality and pedigree as a player. But, even the best take some time to adapt to the demands of a new league. So, this is nothing new. The 31-year-old has the talent to brush this off and start dominating games at the back for Chelsea.
Similar sentiments have been echoed by the Blues boss Thomas Tuchel, who is happy with the 31-year-old and tipped him to have a bright future at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have made a slow start to the season, with 10 points from six league games. Defeats against Leeds and Southampton were bad, while an underwhelming performance against West Ham United raised an eyebrow or two.
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Sometimes a new player needs the team around him to start performing well, enabling him to settle down and start imposing his game. Maybe Koulibaly needs that to happen.