Summer signing Kalidou Koulibaly has vowed to win his Chelsea place back after being dropped for Graham Potter’s first game in charge at Stamford Bridge.
The Senegalese defender was left on the bench for the first game of the former Brighton man’s reign at Chelsea, with the Englishman opting to field a back three of Marc Cucurella and Cesar Azpilicueta either side of Thiago Silva.
And, having not enjoyed the best start to life in west London amid wholesale change, Koulibaly will now be fighting with French defender Wesley Fofana for a place in the side as well as the three chosen against the Austrian outfit.
Despite his mixed beginning to his Chelsea career, however, Koulibaly has vowed to continue fighting for his place under Potter, adding that the new Blues coach is bringing exciting new ideas to west London.
“The new coach came with some good ideas,” Koulibaly said. “He’s a real coach. He did some good things with Brighton. Now he is Chelsea manager.
“He has guidelines, expectations. It’s up to me to be patient, it’s up to me to show that I deserve to play, to show in training that the coach can trust me. There will be no problem.
“We are also in the first weeks, it is normal for the coach to rely on players who are used to the emblem of Chelsea and who have been there for a very long time. When I’m at 100%, there will be no problems. I will play again.”
Chelsea cross London to take on Crystal Palace on October 1st in what will be Graham Potter’s first Premier League game in charge of the Blues, having seen clashes with Liverpool and Fulham both postponed as a result of the Queen’s death.
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