Brighton performances show why Chelsea should give Colwill a chance next season
It's largely been a season of downs for Chelsea. The club's sale to Todd Boehly promised so much, with the American more than willing to loosen the purse strings in a bid to strengthen the Blues, but with campaign ending on Sunday, Chelsea will finish 2022/23 in the bottom half of the table.
The west London side invested heavily in a number of areas across the pitch, notably hoovering up the best rated young players in January with one eye on the future. Enzo Fernandez was the stand out capture, the World Cup winner joining for a British record fee, but in truth; the best performing January addition came in defence.
Benoit Badiashile made the move to London from Ligue 1 side Monaco, and when called upon, was a far sturdier option at the back than the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly and Trevoh Chalobah. Indeed, Badiashile's WhoScored rating of 6.91 is actually the fourth best of all Chelsea players in the Premier League this season. Unfortunately for both player and club, the 22-year-old won't have the chance to improve upon that return.
There are fears at Chelsea that Badiashile could miss the start of next season having sustained a groin injury in training, which could ultimately require surgery. That would be a signficant blow to incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino, who'll look to judge each player in pre-season and take his team from there. Given his impact, though, Badiashile would likely have been a key man for Pochettino at Stamford Bridge, and the issue now is where to Chelsea turn to in order to ease his lengthy absence.
Well, the answer is not too far at all. Just south of London, a Chelsea loanee has impressed on the coast. Levi Colwill made just his 12th league start of the season in Brighton's 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City on Wednesday night, playing his part in limiting Pep Guardiola's side to just four shots on target at the AMEX, their seventh fewest in a Premier League match this season, as the Seagulls confirmed Europa League football for 2023/24.
Following on from a solid season with Huddersfield, Colwill made the transition to Premier League football with ease and Chelsea fans will have been paying close attention to the younster's development at Brighton. The left-footed centre-back has certainly caught the eye and supporters are hopeful he'll continue his development in west London next term rather than elsewhere.
"I don't know what is going to happen (at Chelsea). I'm still here until the end of the season. I just focus on that, then I've got the Euros in the summer. After that, we'll see what happens and go from there," Colwill told the Athletic this week. His comments naturally leaves the door open for speculation surrounding the 20-year-old's future, with the defender unsurprisingly unwilling to comment on his future, be it at Chelsea, Brighton, or elsewhere.
In the same interview, Colwill speaks highly of Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi, which shouldn't come as a surprise given the impact the Italian has made since succeeding Graham Potter. Of course, that'll serve to heighten speculation that he wishes to remain on the south coast, and who can blame him? Brighton can offer Colwill European football next season, which Chelsea cannot.
The change in manager, and one who affords youth the opportunity to stake a claim for a spot, does work in Chelsea's favour, and with the left-footed centre-back role for the Blues now seemingly up for grabs, there does remain a chance he returns to Stamford Bridge for pre-season with a view to being handed a more prominent role under Pochettino. That would certainly go some way to convincing Colwill his future is best served in the capital rather than by the sea.
At present, he has just two years left to run on his current Chelsea deal, and there are currently no indications that Colwill is prepared to extend his stay in London. The Blues faithful will of course be keen to see the centre-back ply his trade in the Chelsea Blue rather than blue-and-white stripes at the AMEX, and a key reason is a willingness to get the ball down and play to help build attacks from defence.
Despite their struggles, Chelsea do at least look retain possession and build up patiently rather than implement a direct approach. Indeed, they rank sixth for possession (54.8%) and third for pass accuracy (83.9%) in England's top tier this term, while four of their top five passers are centre-backs. In the Premier League this season, only three players - Ruben Dias (93.3), Rodri (91.7) and Brighton teammate Lewis Dunk (89.1) - are averaging more passes per 90 than Colwill (85.5) of those to have made at least 15 top-flight appearances.
Using the same parameters, an 89.1% pass success rate ranks 18th in the division. A willingness to play out from the back has certainly aided Brighton in their successful season, and in a youthful Chelsea side, supporters will be hoping Colwill can do similar. The issue, though, will be what would Colwill do once Badiashile is back to fitness. The France international wasn't cheap, and Boehly would want to see a return on a player he spent big to sign at the turn of the year, even if that means there is a risk of losing an academy product to a Premier League rival.
Either way, Colwill has used this season to prove himself in England's top tier and Chelsea would be foolish to cut him loose so soon. Of course, his tweet during their 4-1 loss at Manchester United on Thursday won't have gone down well with supporters, but with Thiago Silva's career drawing to a close and Kalidou Koulibaly the wrong side of 30 and failing to live up to his hefty price tag, the Blues should certainly look into keeping Colwill on with the aim of using the youngster in their defensive rebuild.
