Kalidou Koulibaly only arrived at Chelsea from Napoli in the summer, and there is already a big question mark hovering over his head.
His performances have been very up and down. I do think that recently he has started to look a bit better and a bit more settled, but he has far from been the world class defender we thought we were signing.
Of course, it is entirely natural for players to take time to settle when coming to a new league. But debates have started about selling Koulibaly already and investing our time in Levi Colwill instead. And this is why I believe we should sell Koulibaly this summer and let Colwill have his spot.
Colwill will be coming back into the Chelsea squad this summer regardless, but we need to make sure there is a clear pathway for him to get plenty of games.
Levi Colwill
Interestingly enough, I’ve seen many Chelsea fans agreeing with this.
At the time, nobody really complained about Chelsea signing Koulibaly for a reasonable fee. We all thought we were getting an experienced and world class centre back who would be a good addition to our squad. After all, in Serie A, he was world class. But unfortunately it is just a fact that some players cannot make the transition to the Premier League, and maybe that is just the case here with Koulibaly?
Rumours this week have linked Koulibaly to a move to Juventus.
Koulibaly is reportedly considering a move back to Italy in the summer just one season. He is apparently unhappy at the club and has now spoken to Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri over a possible transfer in the summer, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Calcio Mercato also had a similar story out on it today.
This isn’t the first time we have heard such rumours on Koulibaly this season even though he only arrived in the summer.
Koulibaly can still be sold for some profit. We have to sell Koulibaly for at least £24.7m, and anything more than that will be a profit. We signed him for £33m in the summer so I think we can absolutely hold that value at least if we sold him this summer, which would be some profit, importantly.
I do have a side to me that feels harsh and wonders if we still might see a much better Koulibaly and allow him more time to settle. But then I think I just go back to the cut-throat thoughts that if we want an elite squad to challenge at the very top again, then we cannot carry passengers. And we also must make sure we give as many opportunities to Colwill as physically possible.
I do think that I’d keep him though IF Trevoh Chalobah pushes to leave and is allowed to leave, because we do still need good depth.
