Reports have claimed that people close to Kalidou Koulibaly believe Chelsea’s poor form is one of a number of reasons why he has struggled to adjust this season.
According to The Athletic, the defender is struggling to develop an understanding with his teammates too off the back of the team consistently changing.
The Senegal international has lost his place in the team recently off the back of the addition of Benoit Badiashile in January.
The Frenchman has formed a strong relationship with veteran star Thiago Silva. The pair have conceded just one goal in the four games they have played together.
However, UEFA rules mean the Blues could only register three of their new signings to the Champions League squad.
Despite impressing, Badiashile was overlooked in favour of Joao Felix, Enzo Fernández and Mykhailo Mudryk.
This looks set to hand Koulibaly a great chance to get his Chelsea career off and running in Europe.
Koulibaly not settling at Chelsea
Perhaps not playing every week won’t be helping the 31-year-old adjust, with people close to him telling The Athletic he is taking time to adjust to the pace in England.
They said: “Sources close to Koulibaly, who spoke to The Athletic anonymously to protect their relationships, explain nothing untoward is to blame, just a scenario that frequently occurs with new signings.
“After spending eight years at Napoli, building an understanding with his team-mates and feeling comfortable in the city, Koulibaly has found it difficult to adjust to a new working environment.
“He is still getting used to the pace of the Premier League and this hasn’t been helped by Chelsea’s patchy form. The team also keeps changing, which makes it more difficult to develop an understanding with team-mates.”
He is likely to feature alongside Silva tomorrow, with there not being many better partners in football.
A couple of strong performances in Europe could really get Koulibaly’s career off and running.
SOURCE: thechelseachronicle.com
