Levi Colwill still “wants to come back” to Brighton where he spent last season on loan, according to the Athletic’s Andy Naylor.
It’s a reminder of the sticky situation that’s been going on since the start of the summer, with the defender flirting with the Seagulls at the end of the season while Chelsea insist on bringing the talent back to their team for the season to come.
On that front, Chelsea couldn’t have done much more to show their faith in Colwill than selling Kalidou Koulibaly this week, with another central defensive option (Cesar Azpilicueta) set to join him on the way out.
Interesting how this plays out. #BHAFC
Colwill wants to come back, because he knows he’ll get lots of opportunities to play.
Brighton don’t like developing other clubs’ players, but they haven’t ruled out a second loan if permanent becomes too difficult. https://t.co/imC1MEH4SQ— Andy Naylor (@AndyNaylorBHAFC) June 27, 2023
Colwill can’t expect to be first choice, but he can certainly expect something similar to the 28 appearances that Koulibaly made across all competitions last season, and that would represent huge progress for a player who presumably has aspirations of succeeding at clubs with bigger ambitions than Brighton.
He’s currently playing for England at the U21 Euros, so his mind are on other things. When that tournament wraps up, we expect him to return to Chelsea and sort out his future – hopefully, with Mauricio Pochettino in place by then, we can persuade him he will play an important role this season and beyond.
Yes Brighton are in Europe this season and we’re not – but unless things go very wrong, we should finish above them this season. What would really help with that would be Colwill starring for us rather than them in the year to come…
I hope he makes the right decision for himself; I would love to see him back at the Albion. He deserves the opportunity.
Brighton had faith in him and gave him a chance when Chelsea didn’t. I know where my loyalties would lie!