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It would be unwise to belittle Kalidou Koulibaly for his start to life at Chelsea, as the defender will come good at some point.

That’s according to former Udinese player Valerio Bertotto, who believes some of the reaction to him and his replacement Kim min-Jae is unfair.

The latter has enjoyed a flying start to life at Napoli since arriving from Fenerbahce in the summer, establishing himself as Koulibaly’s replacement in the heart of Luciano Spalletti’s defence.

Koulibaly has not had as good a start to his time at Chelsea, looking well off of the pace and nowhere near value for money early on.

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That’s naturally led to a lot of comparisons with his replacement at Napoli, who is already being linked with a move to the Premier League.

Some of the criticism of the Chelsea man has been quite extreme and Bertotto believes those analysing should avoid belittling the Senegalese star.

“One should not belittle a champion like Kalidou,” Calcio Napoli 24 report him saying.

“(He) did well at Napoli and will continue to do well at Chelsea. The Korean must continue at this level, he is rising to the occasion.”