is adamant Kalidou Koulibaly will play a prominent role for this season despite leaving him out of his first two games in charge.
The 31-year-old joined the Blues in the summer from Napoli in a £33million transfer and it was expected he would cement a place at the heart of his new club’s defence.
Kouliably struggled to convince during the early weeks of the campaign, however, and looked badly off the pace in the defeat against Leeds during which he was sent off for two bookable offences.
’s departure has hardly helped his acclimatisation and he is yet to feature under the German’s successor, who has selected the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana ahead of Koulibaly.
Potter refused to confirm that the experienced central defender would feature against Milan in the Champions League tomorrow, but assured Koulibaly he would play a part in the coming weeks.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Potter said: ‘I think firstly I’ve been really impressed with him.
‘As a person he’s really honest, he understands his situation in terms of he’s had to wait a little bit to play which every player will say they’re not so happy with.
‘It’s about how you respond and his response has been fantastic. He’s very hard working, very honest, trained really well and I think he’s come from a club and a country he was very familiar with and comfortable in.
‘Making a step into the Premier League is not so easy. Things have happened in terms of changes at the club. It’s not the perfect situation for him but he’s a top player and a top person. With that character he’ll play an important role that’s for sure.’
Chelsea, meanwhile, have been boosted by the return to training of N’Golo Kante who has missed the last seven games with a hamstring injury.
Potter is delighted to welcome the influential midfielder back to the fold but stopped short of confirming he saw a long-term future for a player whose contract expires in the summer.
He added: ‘My focus is to help him rehabilitate in a good way so he can be back on the pitch. He is a great asset for us. The other stuff [on his contract] is between the club and him
‘My focus is to get him fit and enjoying his football because there are not many players in world football like NG.’
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