Kalidou Koulibaly suggests that he expects to regain his place in the Chelsea starting lineup over the coming weeks.

Kalidou Koulibaly has suggested that he has no concerns about being dropped from the Chelsea starting lineup.

During the summer transfer window, the Blues pulled off a significant coup in securing the services of the Napoli defender on a long-term contract.

However, the Senegal international is yet to impress in English football, making a number of mistakes which contributed to the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel.

A poor performance and late sending-off against Leeds United resulted in Chelsea succumbing to a 3-0 defeat at Elland Road in the third fixture of the campaign.

Meanwhile, the 31-year-old's decision-making led to Dinamo Zagreb breaking from the halfway line to score the goal which condemned Chelsea to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League.

A day later, Tuchel was removed from his position in the dugout, being replaced by Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter within less than 30 hours of his exit.

Having had a number of training sessions to work with the Chelsea squad ahead of the Red Bull Salzburg fixture, Potter made the surprise decision to leave Koulibaly out of the starting lineup.

Nevertheless, Koulibaly feels that he will be able to prove his worth to his new boss with improved performances on the training pitch.

Speaking to Le Quotidien, the centre-back said: "He did some good things with Brighton, now he is a 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.

"Compared to this, 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 will be at 100%, there will be no problem, I will play again."

In total, Koulibaly has made six starts in all competitions, also missing the trip to Southampton courtesy of a one-game suspension.

Chelsea are next in action when they square off against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on October 1. body check tags ::

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