How does Kalidou Kolibaly compare to Chelsea stars and Big Six stalwarts?

It’s no surprise that Chelsea were looking to sign a new defender this summer, given the lack of options available for Thomas Tuchel. As was the norm in Todd Boehly’s early days, they moved quickly to recruit.

The Stamford Bridge club have completed a transfer for Napoli stalwart Kalidou Kolibaly, with the deal worth £34million.

Kolibaly has an excellent reputation and has been linked with other top clubs in England in the past, with Chelsea fans now wondering what he will bring.

His stats from last season show that Chelsea have landed a formidable presence both on the ground and in the air – and they may not do so when it comes to defensive reinforcements either.

After Nathan Ake decided to stay at Manchester City, Chelsea are reportedly rekindling their interest in Sevilla star Jules Kounde.

Signing a handful of new faces at the back has been key for the Blues, given Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have already left on free transfers.

Tuchel was left out after their exits, although his ranks will be bolstered soon enough.

Cesar Azpilicueta, set to join Barcelona in a £7million transfer, has been told he cannot leave Stamford Bridge until defensive reinforcements are signed. If he were to leave, Chelsea would enter the new season with a very different defence.

Kolibaly, alongside seasoned veteran Thiago Silva, will undoubtedly be at the heart of this project. He was ever present for Napoli last season when fit and has far more experience than those who would look to rival his position.

First, we’ll take a look at how his numbers compare to the club’s current options – namely Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr. These last two players gained less playing time last year, so it should be kept in mind that this will affect the results.

In terms of appearances, Kolibaly has made 34 in all competitions, less than Silva’s 48 but more than Chalobah and Sarr’s 30 and 21 respectively. Curiously, he also started each of those matches, underlining his importance to the Serie A side.

From the games he has featured in, Napoli have conceded 32 goals, four less than the 36 dispatched by Chelsea with Silva at his side. Again, the difference in games played comes into play, but the fact that Koulibaly has scored less than one goal in every game is notable.

Chalobah and Sarr conceded 13 and 16, perhaps because of their limited minutes.

In tackles, Koulibaly leads with 53. Behind him are Chalobah with 52, Silva with 46 and Sarr with 26. Silva’s 69.6 and Chalobah’s 71.2.

As noted above, the Blues newcomer is also strong in the air and is no stranger to throwing himself into blocks and interceptions. He was, however, beaten in both areas by Silva – whose numbers last season were outstanding.

Another vital aspect of the style of play under Tuchel is assurance on the ball and precise decision-making. This, quite simply, revolves around when a player opts for a shorter option to build from the back, or instead decides to smash it down the field.

Kolibaly registered 106 clearances last season, Silva registering 131. For assists, the former made 2088, a figure well below the latter’s 3702. As a disclaimer, this metric is heavily dictated by how each of the teams uses the ball.

Finally, for passing accuracy, Kolibaly’s percentage is 87, while Silva’s is 92.7. Chalobah and Sarr’s totals are 89.8 and 88.7, making it clear that the defender set to don the club’s famous shirt will need to stay calm.

Summarizing for the first table, the results show that Kolibaly is ready to equip himself well against the rigors of the Premier League, although Silva often overtakes him.

Practically, for more context, sports mail also compared Koulibaly to the best of others; the peerless defenders of other Big Six clubs in the top flight.

For this we have selected Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip from Liverpool, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte from Manchester City, Gabriel Magalhaes from Arsenal, Cristian Romero from Tottenham and Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane from Manchester United.

Again, the number of minutes played by each of the above names must be taken into consideration, with Van Dijk in particular still around for his club last season.

It also skews the measurement of minutes per goal conceded, but there are still plenty of notable findings. Kolibaly, as explained above, has an average of 94.9 minutes between goals, an average over an entire match, and ranks very well in the table below.

He’s better by Van Dijk’s 140 minutes, while Laporte (113), Matip (123.5) and Dias (99.7) are also at the top of his efforts. However, Manchester City and Liverpool tend to attack more than they defend, while Napoli generally came under more pressure last year.

In the clean sheet column, Kolibaly’s 12 is again in the middle of the road. Van Dijk has 28, while Matip has 19, Laporte 17 and Dias 13 put them ahead of him. Chelsea’s new man comfortably beats the other four contenders, however.

Kolibaly’s 53 tackles last season are the second highest in the table, behind the 59 made by the combative Matip. Again, this could be affected by the way Napoli presented their stand, but it’s an achievement that Tuchel will certainly please.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that Kolibaly’s tackle success rate of 56.6% is the second-lowest – with everyone but Laporte having improved their figure last year.

For aerial duels won, while Kolibaly’s tally isn’t one his new manager makes fun of, his numbers are beaten by several of his top-flight rivals. Van Dijk won 185 through the air and Matip finished with 140, both of these figures exceeding 58.

An analysis of blocks and interception columns shows that in both areas Kolibaly has a lot to bring to his new team. He ranks second for the first category and fourth for the second – again indicating that he has a full game in his arsenal.

One area for improvement is an opponent’s dribbling. It happened to Koulibaly 17 times last season, around once every two games, and, while it doesn’t sound poor, other Premier League players have resisted more firmly.

By comparison, Van Dijk has only been dribbled past five times, with the second highest amount, behind Kolibaly, coming from Romero’s 13. Maguire, who has been widely maligned by United supporters for his mobility, has been cheated on 12 times.

Finally, there are no major hassles in serving passers-by. As explained above, Kolibaly has demonstrated that he is adept at possession, which is necessary in the modern era of top flight, and his numbers sit well alongside his peers.