Ornstein: Chelsea extending Colwill deal by six years
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported Monday evening that Chelsea’s star youngster Levi Colwill has agreed to a six-year extension with the club.
Contract talks between Chelsea and Levi Colwill had advanced in the last few hours, according to multiple sources, and the parameters for the new contract have now been agreed upon. The defender had become a favorite of Mauricio Pochettino in the last few weeks; the Blues rewarded their manager by tying the centreback down until 2029. Following Colwill’s performance against his former club, Pochettino claimed:
"“I am happy with him, his performance was good today, better than what I expected because it is only the first game with us after the season with Brighton. I am so happy, he can be one of the greatest centre-backs in England.”"
Colwill, alongside teammate and fellow countryman Noni Madueke, arrived late to CFC’s pre-season campaign as a result of the the England U21’s triumph over Spain in the European U21 Championship. The Three Lions won the competition for the first time in 39, and in large part due to the team not conceding a single goal across six games. Colwill featured in five of those six games.
Before agreeing to this six-year extension, Colwill was previously at the center of the reported Moises Caicedo transfer talks. Brighton & Hove Albion have ‘repeatedly’ tried to include Colwill in part of a package for Caicedo, but the west London side of course rebuffed those attempts.
Considering the state of Chelsea’s banged up defense corps, Colwill has the opportunity to nail down a permanent place in the starting XI in short order. If the 21-year-old does manage to take his chance, things will be looking long for the other ‘CBs’ at the club, especially if ‘Poch’ continues to utilise four defenders instead of five like in recent years.
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With Colwill now under wraps until 2029, the club have one final tune-up against Borussia Dortmund before turning to their attention to Liverpool to kick off the 2023-24 Premier League season.