Having a desperate need to replace Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger, Chelsea turned their attention to Serie A to find the right man.
That ended up being Kalidou Koulibaly, whom they spent a chunk of money on, before then signing Wesley Fofana from Leicester City to bolster the backline even further.
The Senegal international has since taken some time to adapt to life at Chelsea and in the Premier League, but he appears to be slowly getting there.
However, there’s no denying the change of manager came as a surprise, which is something he touched upon in an interview with Corriere della Sera, making it clear that it was Thomas Tuchel that wanted him at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “The beauty of football is also this. I arrive with a manager who wanted me at all costs, and then he leaves. Both Tuchel and Graham Potter play with a three-man defence. I was used to Napoli with the four man defence. It’s another arrow that I put in my bow. You never stop learning. I knew I was going to have a hard time, and it did. Even Gianfranco Zola, Didier Drogba had told me the in advance.”
The 31-year-old has so far made 11 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea, who currently sit sixth in the Premier League after 12 games, having picked up 21 points.
This isn’t exactly where Todd Boehly and everyone else at Stamford Bridge will have wanted to be, but Koulibaly firmly believes it can be turned around.
Asked about Arsenal currently being in first place, he said: “It will be Chelsea’s at the end of the season. I want to write history here.”
Koulibaly also revealed he received offers from clubs in Italy over the summer, but he ‘didn’t accept them’, most likely out of loyalty to Napoli, who gave him so much over the years.
