Craig Burley claims Chelsea desperately need Kalidou Koulibaly to step up for them now.
Koulibaly, who joined from Napoli last summer for £33million, has had a challenging debut season at Stamford Bridge.
The 31-year-old defender’s form has been fairly inconsistent, which is why he’s even been on the bench in certain games under Graham Potter.
However, it looks like the centre-back may be needed in the upcoming weeks.
The Daily Mail claim Thiago Silva could miss the next six weeks through injury, which would leave a massive hole in the Blues defence.
ESPN pundit Burley suggests Koulibaly may be the individual to step into Silva’s shoes.
“You brought Koulibaly in from Napoli, who was one of the best in Europe. Okay, he hasn’t been great, but it’s time for him to step up,” Burley told ESPN.
Incidentally, there are signs that he may be starting to rediscover some form. Pat Nevin said he “didn’t put a foot” wrong against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last month.
Koulibaly once proved in Napoli colours what he’s capable of, so perhaps all is not lost yet from a Chelsea perspective.
He’s definitely the senior option to start at centre-half in the coming weeks,
Alternatively, Potter has centre-backs Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana or Trevoh Chalobah to call upon.
The next two fixtures, Leeds Untied and Borussia Dortmund, look absolutely massive for Chelsea’s head coach.
Chelsea need their big players to dig them out of the huge hole they’re in, so can Koulibaly start to justify the hype that existed around his name last year?
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