Peter Crouch has criticised Kalidou Koulibaly for his start to the season and his Chelsea career.
Koulibaly, who left Napoli and moved to Stamford Bridge for £33million in the summer, has been one of the most highly rated defenders across Europe for the last five or six years.
The 31-year-old is a colossus centre-back that built up a formidable reputation in Serie A with Napoli.
However, his start in English football has been a bit rocky. He’s picked up a red card and had some shaky performance in his opening six Blues appearances.
Crouch criticised Koulibaly
Crouch, who mentioned that Koulibaly took the No.26 shirt made famous at Chelsea by John Terry, delivered a harsh criticism of his individual start to the season.
“Koulibaly has come in and gone ‘can I take the 26?’ You know because JT [Terry] is obviously retired. He’s come in, he’s took it, and he’s making a right pig’s ear of it isn’t he?” Crouch said.
Koulibaly spoke on the phone with Terry about taking 26, so that brings its own kind of pressure.
He’s a very experienced centre-half that definitely has the quality to overcome a slow start. It’s his first taste of English football, too.
One small concern may be that he was left out of the XI for Graham Potter’s first game in charge as Chelsea’s new head coach, though.
Let’s wait and see how Potter’s defence takes shape in the coming weeks.
Most of the fanbase expect Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana and Koulibaly to be the most used defenders in a back three, but the former was the only one of those to start Potter’s first game in charge.
Antonio Rudiger’s immense performances in the last couple of years as Chelsea’s left-sided centre-back ensured it was a colossal job for anybody to try replace him.
However, Koulibaly needs to be judged as his own player based on what he does.
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