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Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara has criticized Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly for his performances this season.
The Blues brought in Koulibaly from S.S.C. Napoli on a deal in the region of £33 million last summer. They made the move to reinforce the heart of their backline after Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen departed on free transfers.
The Senegalese defender was expected to forge a solid pairing with Thiago Silva. However, while Silva has continued to perform well at the age of 37, Koulibaly has struggled to hit the kind of form that he often displayed for Napoli.
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This brought him criticism from O'Hara, who told talkSPORT about the Chelsea centre-back:
“They look weak in midfield, weak upfront. If it wasn’t for Thiago Silva I would say they were poor at the back. Thiago Silva is an absolute Rolls Royce.
“Kalidou Koulibaly – I don’t know what they have seen in him. because I think he’s miles off it. The rest of them, I’m not convinced at all. Bang average.”
None of Chelsea's new arrivals from last summer have really set the stage alight in the first half of the 2022-23 season.
Marc Cucurella has looked nowhere near his best and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is struggling to get into the starting XI. Wesley Fofana has missed plenty of time due to injury and is still on the sidelines, while Carney Chukwuemeka has received just 46 Premier League minutes.
Raheem Sterling began the campaign well, but his current record of six goals in 26 matches across competitions doesn't make for great reading. On-loan midfielder Denis Zakaria has looked good at times but remains an injury risk, having missed much of the first half of the season due to fitness issues.
Looking at Kalidou Koulibaly's stats for Chelsea this season
Kalidou Koulibaly has participated in 16 of Chelsea's 25 matches across all competitions this season. He has started 15 games and registered one goal, which came in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League back in August 2022.
Following a decent start, Koulibaly was sent off in his third appearance for the team, a 3-0 league defeat to Leeds United. He has since helped them keep just six clean sheets across 13 matches, during which they have conceded 11 goals.
The Senegalese defender's underlying stats haven't been great either. In 11 Premier League appearances, Koulibaly has averaged just 0.1 possessions won per game. While he is yet to make an error leading to a shot or a goal, he has won just 58% of his total duels, which will also be worrying for Graham Potter.
Koulibaly's struggles have been in part due to Chelsea's defensive struggles as a whole this term. However, the experienced defender will also have to iron out the issues in his game if the Blues are to return to the form they showed early in Potter's tenure.
