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Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has shed light on how one of his high-profile signings struggled with the pace of the Premier League and admitted he couldn’t not run and think at the same time.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has shed light on one of his high-profile signings' inability to adapt to the relentless pace of the English Premier League.
Boehly's ambitious recruitment drive under the Clearlake consortium has seen a staggering investment of over £1 billion, with a primary focus on acquiring top young talent globally.
Kalidou Koulibaly, a seasoned defender, was touted as a solution to Chelsea's defensive woes. Heralded as a marquee signing from Napoli, his arrival was anticipated to bolster the Blues' backline significantly.
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However, Koulibaly's transition to English football proved arduous, with his struggles evident from the outset.
The tipping point came in a lackluster performance against Leeds United, where Koulibaly's inadequacies were glaring, culminating in a red card.
Despite high expectations, the Senegalese international failed to find his footing in the Premier League, managing just 20 appearances for Chelsea before being offloaded to Al-Hilal last summer, resulting in a substantial financial loss for Boehly's consortium.
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Boehly revealed that Koulibaly, accustomed to the slower pace of Serie A, found the intensity of the Premier League overwhelming.
“When you think about just the size and scale of European football, it’s just mind-numbing and there’s no better league in the world in the Premier League,” Boehly told Sportico.
“If you look at how these guys play, the speed with which they play the game. One of my players who I had a great relationship with is Kalidou Koulibaly.
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“Koulibaly came over from Serie A and he told me one time, ‘In Serie A, I get to think and then run but in the Premier League, I have to run while I think, and I’m still adjusting to that’.”
Despite maintaining an amicable relationship with the departed player, the Chelsea owner highlighted Koulibaly's struggle to comprehend the stark contrast between the leagues where he spent the prime years of his career.
In response to Koulibaly's departure, Chelsea has continued to invest heavily in defensive reinforcements, securing the services of promising talents such as Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, and Wesley Fofana.
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However, with the confirmation of Thiago Silva's departure, the Blues are poised to bolster their defensive ranks further in the upcoming transfer window.
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