Chelsea have had a tricky transfer window after facing multiple rejections. The Blues were once close to completing deals for Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, Leeds’ Raphinha, Juventus; Matthijs de Ligt and Sevilla’s Jules Kounde. All those players would go to different clubs. The Blues did manage to bring in Raheem Sterling from City, Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, and Marc Cucurella from Brighton.
The transfer of Cucurella was completed after deals for de Ligt, and Kounde fell through. While the loss of Cucurella has been significant for Brighton, he has been replaced by Chelsea’s Levi Colwill. The youngster is one of the most talented players at Stamford Bridge.
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Colwill was one of the best players in the Championship last season. On loan at Huddersfield Town, the defender made 30 appearances for the club. He was one of the main reasons Huddersfield Town finished third in the league. While they failed to achieve promotion to the Premier League, Colwill’s stock rose high.
Before Cucurella’s arrival, Thomas Tuchel might have also been looking toward the 19-year-old defender for a role in the team. And now Colwill might replace the Spaniard in the Seagulls’ defence.
Ball stopper
Colwill’s ascent at Huddersfield Town was characterised by ultimate physical domination. Despite being only 18 years last season, the defender rarely lost out in physical duels against any opponents. This helped the team in two ways; first, it snuffs out the opposition’s attack, and second, his presence ensures calm among his defensive peers.
Colwill is a genuine no-nonsense defender. Last season, he won 63 per cent of his duels and 67 per cent of his duels. That is top numbers for even a well-seasoned defender, let alone a player in his first season. The left-footed defender is also adept on the ball like a modern centre-back.
Albion are delighted to announce the signing of @Levi_Colwill on loan. 🙌
🤝 @FirstTouchGames // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 5, 2022
Colwill also exploits passing lanes to move the ball up quickly. His immense physical prowess means that he is rarely disposed of the ball. Many times during the season, opposition players failed to dispossess him as he cut through them like butter.,
His physical prowess is helped by good dribbling, which makes him a defensive beast with smooth moves. While a starting spot at Chelsea would have come too soon for him, his fast rise shows us that it is a matter of time before he starts knocking on Tuchel’s door.
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Levi Colwill stats
Soccerment rated Colwill as the best defender in the Championship. And this is backed by stats. The Englishman won 91 aerial duels, 52 tackles, and 39 interceptions. His positional awareness is also on a different level. Despite his physical powers, the teenager only goes in for a tackle when it becomes necessary, which he does with high accuracy. For a defender, he has a respectable dribble completion rate of 76 per cent.
Colwill also averages 4.6 clearances per 90 minutes and seven key passes. His passing, though, needs improvement, with the player only recording a 78 per cent successful passing rate.
Colwill’s stats may not be top of the tree but it shows that he was so brilliant at defending that he did not need to use last-minute tackles or flashy tricks to help his team. All these numbers are equal to or better than any of the Huddersfield defenders, which he did in his first season at just 18 years of age.
Chelsea academy talent Levi Colwill has been on loan to Huddersfield for the 21/22 season. Here is how his overall performance this season is visualized. The 19yr old plays LCB, a position that needs reinforcing with Malang Sarr the only available option after Rudiger’s departure pic.twitter.com/3w9W53k8F7
— Chelsea Database (@ChelseaDatabase) May 29, 2022
Levi Colwill scout report
The word that comes to mind while watching Colwill play is ”generational talent”. Make no mistakes, the Championship is perhaps the toughest second-tier league in the world. And with the top teams getting a shot to play in the Premier League, several games come close to Premier League standard.
And Colwill has dominated in such a league in his first season. The player shows no signs of fear and is undaunted by any challenge, things that ultimately become the difference between the good and the very best.
His extreme physical prowess and good dribbling skills make him a complete defender drawing parallels with Antonio Rudiger. The German has now gone to Real Madrid; sooner or later, Colwill will claim his spot as his successor.
Chelsea has seen players like Reece James establish themselves in the team, and Colwill could follow suit.
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Levi Colwill transfer news
Well, it has been confirmed that the defender is going on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion. The Seagulls snapped him up after selling Cucurella to the Blues. And Colwill could not have asked for a better option. After experiencing one season in the Championship, he must have been raring to play in the Premier League. Brighton offers him that.
On the Seagulls’ side, Colwill will get more chances. Another area where he will gain experience is the quality of the opponents. Furthermore, since Huddersfield were one of the top teams in the Championship, the team dominated large parts of the game. While Brighton play an intensive style similar to top teams, the lack of top-level talent means that the team have to stay defensive against top teams.
And this is where we will be able to see how quickly he adapts to the demand of the new system and league. If he keeps up his performances, then the loss of Kounde and de Ligt will be negated on the field and forgotten off it.