Kalidou Koulibaly vs Kurt Zouma: Who Would Be The Best Man To Line Up Under Antonio Conte At Chelsea Next Season

Antonio Conte is set to bring about many changes at the club after he takes over from Guus Hiddink after the Euros. Right from the goalkeeping coach to his backroom staff, the fans are in for an Italian delight. Conte is the perfect candidate for the blues after a dismal season to start from scratch and build a formidable team again. After the match fixing scandal that rocked Turin, he was the person who guided Juventus back to the top and the Bianconeri are at the receiving end of dome unprecedented success in Italy thanks to the management of Antonio Conte.

The supporters are in for a surprise as most of them will be unheard of the 3-5-2 formation being played by their beloved team. Since Claudio Ranieri left, Chelsea have been used to playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation and Conte is set to bring about a welcome change at Stamford Bridge. Conte is a fan of three men at the back and though it has not been that successful in the premier league, Conte can make it happen with a talented squad at his disposal with one or two new faces at the back.

John Terry, Gary Cahill, Kurt Zouma and even Branislas Ivanovic are present at the club which will give Conte a lot to ponder along with youngsters Andrea Christensen, Matt Miazga and Fikayo Tomori. Now, the blues are being linked with yet another talented defender, Kalidou Koulibaly. The 24 year old is playing for the Naples side who challenged for the Scudetto under Maurizio Sarri. Koulibaly has been an integral part of the side which took Diego Maradono to even say that the Senegalese is the best defender in Serie A.

Standing at 6″ 5′ and at 200 lbs, Koulibaly is built for the Premier League and can stand against the likes of Carroll and Benteke easily. His positioning play has improved a lot this season, but his passing is a thing to worry about. He also has committed the most number of fouls in the league this season which results in unnecessary bookings for him. But at 24, he has an immense future ahead and also the player has spoken out about his will to play in England and also of Chelsea’s interest. Napoli has not offered him a new deal until now which means the blues can get a centre back for a meagre fee.

But do Chelsea really need him? If compared with Kurt Zouma, it can be proved that there is not much difference between the two and the blues already have a future world class proposition at their ranks. Zouma has been unlucky this season as he had just made a breakthrough into the side and had started to look promising, just then he ruptured his ACL and was out for the rest of the season. Comparing Zouma and Koulibaly, the Frenchman stands out in discipline as Zouma had a total of zero bookings this season which proves he can be trusted in difficult situations and his tackle on Martial this season was a sight to behold.

Koulibaly had received 11 yellow cards which would increase in England considering the pace of the league compared to Italy. Also, Koulibaly has been involved in three errors that led to a goal or created a chance whereas with Zouma it is again zero. Kouibaly contested in 147 headed duels with a success rate of 55% whereas Zouma contested in 92 with a success rate of 70%. The average pass length of both the players is also cut to cut and so is their contribution with the key passes.

As it is being observed, Koulibaly has a great future ahead of him, but it should not be at Stamford Bridge as it would be unfair for the likes of Kurt Zouma and then the young crop of academy graduates who are waiting for a chance to be included in the first team squad. This campaign, the fans got a look of Miazga and Tomori too to some extent, and it is high time now that a local young talent be ingrained into the squad ahead of foreign imports.