Mauricio Pochettino has delivered a really interesting verdict on Chelsea youngster Levi Colwill.
It’s obvious that Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino took an immediate liking to Levi Colwill this season, which is why he’s played in 17 of the club’s 18 games so far across all competitions.
The 20-year-old defender, who developed in Chelsea’s academy as a youngster, is fresh into the first-team squad after a good loan at Brighton last year.
Now, the England international is looking to impress for his boyhood club on a weekly basis.
It’s worth adding that the centre-back is covering at times as the left-back, so it’s not been the smoothest of rides in the first half of the campaign.
Captain material
We’ve seen Pochettino go down the route of trusting Chelsea’s English talents with an academy background. For example, Reece James was appointed club captain in the summer. Conor Gallagher has acted as a stand-in skipper at times, too.
It took some people by surprise when Colwill, 20, wore the captain’s armband and led Chelsea out during their midweek defeat against Manchester United.
Pochettino has explained he views Chelsea’s youngster as a leader moving forward. Also, he’s got a lot of faith in his quality and future at the club.
When asked if it was a lot of pressure to make Colwill the captain at Old Trafford, Pochettino said via The Athletic: “No. It is (only seen as) a pressure for (people) who don’t know Levi. Levi can deal with it because of his personality and character.
“He loves the club, he came from the club (the academy) and in 4-5 months (with the first team) everyone respects him. He has the profile to be captain.
“We are building something for today but for the future also. He is a potentially massive player for the future of the club.
“My decision is about giving responsibility and a chance to learn. For him it is a massive test, to be responsible for the team. If we want young kids to become men and become great players, we need to trust them. I trust him because of his personality and character.
“Even if he doesn’t get the armband again this season because we have Reece, Ben Chilwell and Conor Gallagher, he has the profile. From what I can see, he is going to be the future of the club.”
Levi Colwill a future star
We’re standing firm on the belief that Colwill will grow and develop into this top-class defender many expect.
For starters, life will become a lot easier for him once he gets a run of starts in his preferred position at centre-half.
The ball-playing centre-back is young and with so much potential, but it’s proving to be a difficult Chelsea side to shine in right now due to inconsistency.
Speaking via Football Daily earlier this season, Gallagher hailed Chelsea teammate Colwill as a “great talent” with so much potential.
There’s always going to be bumps in the roads during the career of any youngster.
