'I am Koulibaly, I’m not Rudiger'

Kalidou Koulibaly has urged Chelsea fans to be patient with him and says he will need time to adapt to the Premier League.

The 31-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge from Napoli after the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, but insists he has a different style of play from his predecessors.

He said: "I don’t want to be the guy who replaced Rudiger. I want to be another player, I am Koulibaly, I’m not Rudiger. I don't have the same skills, I don’t play like him.

"If everyone wants me to play like him I am not that player. I have another style and I will try to do my best to give everything to the team.

"I know it will be difficult for me because I come from Italy and Premier League football is really difficult. But I am really motivated and I want to show everybody that Chelsea made a good choice with me and they can have confidence in me.

"I have to adapt because everything is faster and I have to think faster, my head has to go faster, my eyes have to go faster. In Serie A everything is more calm, here you have to think very fast. This is the first thing I have to change.

"It is a new system for me 3-5-2 so I have to adapt everything and I am thankful to the staff because they give me all the things to understand everything and they talk a lot with me. Also the other players like Thiago, Azpilicueta.

"I know that I will need time for sure. I cannot be the player everyone is waiting for in the first game. I will take time and I know in two or three months I will be the one everyone is waiting for."