Kalidou Koulibaly insists he isn’t concerned about how his Chelsea career is going despite being left out of Graham Potter’s first two matches in charge.
The £34million signing from Napoli has yet to feature under Potter, having had a slow start under Thomas Tuchel before the new managers arrival.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League clash with AC Milan on Wednesday, the 31-year-old said he’s willing to fight for his future.
“Yes, it is true I haven’t played under the new manager,” Koulibaly said at Stamford Bridge. “I am just easy, I know my time will come.
“We have a lot of games. I will give everything at training. I am a big worker when I don’t play, I like to put all my energy into training and work.
“I am doing my best in the training sessions to show he can use me on the pitch and try to play my first game for him.
“The pace is a little bit different than Italian football but I am really happy to be here and part of the Premier League. It was my dream to play here in this football. I am here and really happy.
“I know it has been different for foreign players coming here. I spoke about it with a lot of people who told me to be aware. I am easy and know it will come. I was expecting it [to be] like this. I knew it would be hard to move eight years of my life to come in London.
“I have reached a big club, one of the best in the world so everything is hard. I think that my time will come. I am easy. I know it is a normal process so I have to keep on working, being patient and my time will come. I am not worried about anything, I just want Chelsea to win the games.
“The most important thing is Chelsea win the game tomorrow because Chelsea didn’t start the Champions League well with a loss and a draw. We have the opportunity to start this game well tomorrow and I think we have prepared everything to win and I think we will do it tomorrow. This is the most important thing.
“When I have the chance to play I will give 100% but I will be patient, focus on my training and know I will play soon.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s new striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored his first goal for the Blues, helping his side to a 2-1 away win at Crystal Palace.
Koulibaly, who gets regular practice at defending against him in training, explained what his new team-mate is like.
“Everybody knows Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,” he added. “He is an important player for us. He used to score a lot in the Premier League and did it in Barcelona last year. We are happy to be with him today.
“We know he can give us a lot because he can score a lot. It is hard to take him on in training. He is talented but everyone in our training is also difficult because we have a lot of talent in this team. We know we can score every time.”
