Thomas Tuchel has been warned that Kalidou Koulibaly could struggle to acclimatise to life in the Premier League despite the defender enjoying great success in Italy.
The 31-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge for the best part of five years and, after intense contract disputes with Napoli, Chelsea had a £34million bid accepted.
Koulibaly, who has penned a four-year deal in west London, featured 27 times for Luciano Spalletti’s side in the Serie A last season, steering Gli Azzurri towards a title charge.
Despite having also guided his country to the Africa Cup of Nations glory in February, former Napoli head coach Rafa Benitez has cast doubt as to whether Koulibaly can transfer his talent to the Premier League.
Speaking to The Athletic, the ex-Chelsea and Liverpool boss warned Tuchel that the Blues‘ latest signing could struggle.
“He must improve his concentration at times,” Benitez said.
“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.”
“Benitez added by outlining that despite his worries, Koulibaly is the perfect candidate to replace Antonio Rudiger, who left for Real Madrid this summer. The Spaniard said:”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, 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.”
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