Chelsea new-boy Kalidou Koulibaly backed to finally add some silverware to his bare trophy cabinet by ‘agent’ Jorginho
KALIDOU KOULIBALY has not yet got the silverware to show for his impressive career.
And Chelsea midfielder Jorginho believes the club’s new man is finally in the right place to add some glamour to the barest of trophy cabinets.
The Blues signed Senegalese defender Koulibaly from Napoli for £35million last week and he was set to make his debut against Arsenal in Orlando on Sunday.
An ex-team-mate of Jorginho in Naples, the 31-year-old has earned nicknames such as “The Wall” because of his fierce reputation in defence.
However, club trophies have so far been few and far between.
The only ones he has lifted are the Belgian Cup with Genk in 2013 and a Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana with Napoli in 2020 and 2014 respectively.
READ MORE ON CHELSEA
Jorginho meanwhile — since arriving in west London back in 2018 — has won the Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.
And after being reunited with his old pal, Jorginho says Koulibaly deserves to enjoy the same winning spree at Chelsea.
Asked if he deserves to win trophies at the club to make up for lost time, Jorginho said: “Oh definitely, because of the person he is, he deserves the best of everything.
“When I saw him win trophies I was so, so happy for him. He is such a nice guy and brings a lot to this club.
Most read in Football
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
“He is an experienced player, not just on the pitch. You will see he is a brilliant defender, strong, fast, he plays on the ball.
“But as a guy, a person in the changing room he is just amazing.”
Koulibaly had been linked with a switch to Chelsea for years before eventually signing a four-year deal with them last week.
Boss Thomas Tuchel and compatriot Edouard Mendy played active roles by selling the idea of the Blues.
Jorginho admitted to also trying to help get the move over the line and when asked when he began selling the club to his pal he added: “Last year! It was a lot.
“We always said as a joke ‘Let’s play together again, let’s play together again’. But, it never happened and when we saw that OK maybe it’s not a joke anymore we started to be more serious about it.
“I pushed! I was like ‘come on, come to Chelsea’. And he was like ‘ah yeah I’d like to’. I said: ‘Just come’, because it’s been a long time since we shared a changing room.”
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
Koulibaly is expected to take the No 26, the shirt number previously worn by legendary captain John Terry.
Jorginho added: “He’ll realise more over time about that number. He is respectful but I hope the number brings him luck.”