Levi Colwill is in for a career-defining season. He is not only expected to be Chelsea’s first-choice left-sided centre-back but has also been told by Gareth Southgate that regular game time will put him firmly in contention for a Euro 2024 place with England.
That’s why Colwill was so intent on speaking to Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino about his pathway at the club prior to penning a new six-year deal worth £100k-per-week.
Brighton – where Colwill spent last season on loan, helping them qualify for Europe for the first time in their history – were desperate to sign the talented 20-year-old, but Chelsea’s stance was always that he was not for sale.
“I don’t think it [extending at Chelsea] was ever a doubt really,” said Colwill, who won the Under-21 Euros with England this summer without conceding a goal. “Brighton had a great year last year and all respect to Roberto De Zerbi. He’s made me learn so much and improve as a player, but Chelsea was always my first option.
“Chelsea has been my club since my ninth birthday when I signed. Obviously, I love this club a lot. I want to win big things with this club. I just had to speak to the gaffer and see what happened from there.
“Like I said there was never a doubt. We had the conversation – more of a private sort of thing. I don’t want to out everything he said. It was just giving me a bit of confidence to say if you play well, you’ll have a chance with me and that’s all I wanted to hear.
“I always wanted to be at Chelsea, be a Chelsea player and hopefully become a Chelsea legend one day.”
If as expected Colwill starts the opening game against Liverpool – and in doing so makes his competitive Chelsea debut – it will be a special and surreal moment for him. He’ll likely line up next to one of his idols, Thiago Silva – a player he was starstruck by wandering the Cobham corridors just a few years ago.
“He is a joke,” laughed Colwill, speaking from Chelsea’s pre-season tour in Chicago. “Training with him, playing next to him, he’s just so relaxed. He knows everything that is going on. You can’t put into words how good he is.
“It would mean a lot to me [to start alongside him against Liverpool]. I remember when I was younger, I used to watch clips of him the day before a game. When he was at PSG, I just used to watch clips because he’s not the biggest, he’s not the fastest and that’s what I used to be like before I grew a lot. Mentally, he’s steps above everyone. If 10-year-old Levi thought about playing with him, it would be amazing – the best feeling in the world.”
Colwill will not only be living out his boyhood dream against Liverpool – a club both his parents support – but do so wearing the No.26 shirt, made famous by former Chelsea captain John Terry.
Colwill wore the same number during a successful loan spell with Huddersfield in 2021/22 leading many to brand him the ‘next’ Terry. Yet he actually picked 26 because his birthday falls on February 26.
“It’s not a bad thing to be called the new John Terry,” he told The Athletic in May last year. “I haven’t made the comparison myself so the fans and media can make whatever comparisons they want to make, it isn’t going to affect me.
“[My number is not] because of John. It’s because that’s the date of my birthday. It was my number when I was growing up, even if I was just playing a football game on PlayStation.”
Colwill clocked PlayStation-like stats in the second half of last season after breaking into Brighton’s team over the festive period, earning five straight starts.
In his 17 Premier League appearances last campaign, Colwill made more forward passes per 90 minutes (30.5) than any other player and more passes into the final third (8.59) than any Chelsea centre-back. He also ranked sixth in the Premier League (75.02%) for completed passes, looking calm and incisive on the ball.
“It was an amazing year [at Brighton],” said Colwill, who was also tracked this summer by Liverpool. “I learnt so much as a player and a man. When I went there, Graham Potter was the manager and I [joined] pretty late into the start of the season.
“When De Zerbi came in, I wasn’t playing much. I had to adapt, keep my head and not just throw my toys out of the pram. It was tough for me every single day, but I can’t say anymore. I’m so happy for everything I went through. [During] ups and downs I’ve learnt so much as a person and a player and I’m just grateful for that opportunity.
“Southampton away last year on Boxing Day, that’s when I really got my chance under De Zerbi. I played alright and he liked what he saw. From there, it just went off. When you play that sort of football, you grow more confidence in yourself. Sometimes it might take a little bit longer and when it works you look amazing.
“De Zerbi definitely gives you confidence all the time. He’s always telling you how good a player you are. But when you step on that pitch you’re just like everyone else, no matter how good you are – he’s there to make you work. For that hour or two hours you are on the pitch you’re there to work and learn. He wants the best. He’s a perfectionist and I think that’s why Brighton did so well last season.”
“I remember standing in the tunnel. I was a bit nervous myself and I stood looking mesmerised at Wembley,” revealed Colwill. “I never thought I would play there and then I got to the [2022] Playoff Final with Huddersfield. I remember walking out with my uncles there thinking how times have changed. They are watching me now. It didn’t feel real, and it was a bit emotional to be honest.
“My family is football crazy, so growing up I didn’t have another choice. Football is what you do as a little boy. I think I was five when my dad took me to go and play football and I fell in love with it. Every day that’s what I wanted to do.
“My dad never complained once. He would always take me out. It was a good way for me and him to bond. We loved it. With my uncles, I would always go to their games at any chance. It’s even like that now… [and] them, my dad and my family are at every single one of my games.
“One of my dad’s biggest things he tells me is never give up and no one can doubt you. I go anywhere I can and try to be confident in myself and think, ‘If you don’t like me, I don’t really care’. I am here to work hard and improve and learn as a player.”
Colwill has had his fair share of challenges, though. He spent six weeks out after picking up a muscle injury in January and had a frustrating knee issue at Huddersfield. Plus, back-to-back seasons on loan is never easy having to get used to a new manager, dressing room and culture. But the likeable defender has taken everything in his stride.
“[My mentality] always gets tested,” said Colwill. “You just have to dig in and keep going. That’s how you improve. Everywhere I have gone it’s been tested. At Huddersfield when I first went in, I don’t think I was a starter and then the injury happened, and then I got a chance. It got tested there. And then more injuries. And obviously, Brighton, going there and not starting and having to push in [to the side]. It always happens. It’s just football. The best players go through it all the time. It’s just how you come out the other side.
“I played in the Premier League last season, so I trust myself. I know that I can do it. I played against some of the best players and played well sometimes. Sometimes I played rubbish, it happens! You live and you learn. But I came into [pre-season] and thought why can’t I put my stamp on it.
“[The aim now] is to win trophies really. If we can win everything that gets put out in front of us hopefully one day I can become a legend. But not just once, keep doing it in multiple seasons.”
Colwill is going to be an integral part of a young and new-look Chelsea side. The club’s owners and sporting directors have been intent on reducing the average age and tying down talent on long-term and incentive-driven deals.
It means there’s plenty of hunger and competition for places. Colwill, for example, must battle against Benoît Badiashile for the left-sided centre-back position. The French defender impressed last season but is only just working his way back from a hamstring injury, which is why Colwill’s starting spot for Liverpool is not really in doubt.
Colwill is also content to play as right centre-back and sees no reason why he wouldn’t be utilised there if needed as well.
“Two right footers can play together [in a back four],” he said. “Why can’t two left footers? I think people who say that are a bit clueless. I don’t think it matters what foot you are if you understand the position. If your awareness is good then you can play where you want.”
A productive and unbeaten pre-season in America showed Chelsea are quickly building identity and chemistry. The squad have taken well to Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 system. And the Chelsea manager has put his players through some gruelling fitness tests, even promising them a free meal as an incentive for running that extra mile. Plus there’s been plenty of team bonding, including a trip to meet the Philadelphia Eagles and a hotly-contested table tennis tournament.
“I don’t even play [table tennis],” chuckled Colwill. “I don’t want to say [who is best]. If I say his name, he’s going to get so big-headed. I’m going to go with Raz [Raheem Sterling]. From what I’ve seen Raz is the best… but Noni [Madueke] thinks he is!”
Colwill has already built a strong rapport with Madueke after the pair won the Under-21 Euros together with England this summer in Georgia. Following the 1-0 victory over Spain in the final – in which the otherwise excellent Colwill gave away an injury-time penalty which Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford dramatically double-saved – Madueke gatecrashed a live social media stream and personally guaranteed he’d bring Colwill back to Chelsea.
Colwill looked a little embarrassed at the time, but he was always going to stay at Stamford Bridge providing he knew he was firmly in Pochettino’s plans. And the insistence on minutes certainly isn’t borne out of arrogance. Colwill is just aware that a strong season for Chelsea could see him not only selected for Euro 2024 but even start. Harry Maguire’s left-sided centre-back spot is by no means guaranteed, even with his potential move to West Ham. Southgate has made that clear to Colwill, who trained with the senior England squad before heading off to the Under-21 Euros.
“Going and joining England to train was a big thing for me. It kind of shows nothing you do goes unnoticed,” said Colwill, who has won 11 caps for England Under-21s. “Going there and being with some of the best players in the world, I have to keep pushing because anything can happen. That’s what it’s like. Hopefully, I am there.
“In the Under-21 Euros, I was confident, and when you are confident you know what you are doing. Most of my teammates knew what I was going to do anyway because in training I had been doing it. When I had my foot on the ball, I wasn’t in a rush.
“Everyone says we didn’t concede a goal and that the success was built on defence but I think that was rubbish. I think it was the whole team. We built a really good bond between the players and managers. I think Lee Carsley did it himself and the players all felt like family at times. That’s what we took into games.
“When we played Portugal [in the quarter-finals], we went 1-0 up and then in the second half I don’t think we got out of our half. It was tough and that family feeling where we stuck together and didn’t concede was the best feeling. After that, we knew we could win the tournament and felt confident.”
Colwill clearly brings confidence back to Stamford Bridge from both Brighton and the Under-21 Euros. Chelsea will hope it’s infectious.
Pochettino has already called Colwill one of the “greatest centre-backs in England” and if he can help Chelsea keep clean sheets they will quickly get back to the winning ways the club is used to. Perhaps that’s why ambitious Colwill feels Chelsea should head into the new campaign with lofty ambitions even after a 12th-place finish in 2022/23.
“It’s a different season with different players,” he said. “I think there’s a different feeling in the changing room, so I think we can do anything we want. It’s exciting times. We’ve got a young group that can go on and win anything we want if we put our minds to it and work hard, especially under the gaffer. Anything is possible.”