‘He could be guilty of losing focus and being overconfident’: Rafael Benitez warns Kalidou Koulibaly he must ‘improve his concentration’ if he is to succeed at Chelsea… but compares his former Napoli centre-back to Antonio Rudiger
Ex-Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez compared Kalidou Koulibaly to Antonio Rudiger
Koulibaly signed for the Blues after completing a £34m move from Napoli
The defender replaces Rudiger, who left the club to go to Real Madrid for free
Koulibaly has been told to improve his concentration by Benitez
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Former Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has admitted that Kalidou Koulibaly needs to improve his concentration levels before playing for the Blues.
The defender has made a £34million move from Napoli to Chelsea and is expected to fill the void left by Antonio Rudiger, who has come to Real Madrid on a free transfer.
But Benitez, who managed Koulibaly during his time as Napoli boss, has shared his concerns about the defender losing focus on the pitch and his tendency to be ‘overconfident’.
These concerns make the former Blues manager doubt the 31-year-old will be as dominant as he was in Serie A.
Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly switched from Napoli to Chelsea for £34million deal
Rafael Benitez led Koulibaly when he was manager of Italy’s Napoli
He told the athletic: ‘He needs to improve his concentration every now and then.
“He can be guilty of losing focus and can be overconfident, but he has been a huge influence at Napoli and people I know and trust have told me he has been Italy’s best central defender during this time. .
This season will be the Premier League for him and he could be good for the way Tuchel wants to play.
“He has similarities with Rudiger – he can run with the ball very well, he is good with both feet.”
“Powered by “is he a little too nice?” We’ll see what happens at Chelsea.
“Like I said, in Italy he was fine because he was so fast, but I doubt he will be so dominant here.”
Koulibaly has been signed by Chelsea as a replacement for Antonio Rudiger, who moves to Real . has come
Benitez has also suggested that while Koulibaly’s aerial skills weren’t the best, he was always willing to try and improve and take advice from the coaches.
“Aeriality wasn’t his greatest strength, but in Italy it mattered a little less and he was okay,” he said.
“It will be interesting to see how that develops in the Premier League, but he was always very eager to learn.
“After training, he spent time with me and my staff working on his course and improving his technique.”
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been trying to sign Koulibaly all summer as he needed defensive reinforcements following the departures of centre-backs Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, who came to Barcelona after his contract at Stamford Bridge expired.