Chelsea leave Liverpool, Brighton disappointed as Pochettino seals huge £31.2m deal
Chelsea have agreed a new contract with Levi Colwill amid interest from Liverpool and Brighton in the defender, according to reports.
Brighton were keen on bringing Colwill back to the south coast after the centre-back enjoyed a successful loan spell at the Amex Stadium last campaign, with bids of £30m and £40m rejected.
Reports at the beginning of July claimed that Liverpool were ‘confident’ of sealing a permanent transfer with Jurgen Klopp’s side hoping to take advantage over Colwill’s indecision over signing a new contract.
However, the Daily Mail has now confirmed that Colwill has committed his future to Chelsea by signing a ‘six-year deal in principle’ which would keep him at Stamford Bridge until June 2029.
Colwill will earn at least £100,000 a week – amounting to £31.2m over six years – with the deal ‘expected to be finalised soon’.
Speculation arose that Colwill’s game time could be limited because of Axel Disasi’s imminent transfer to Stamford Bridge from Monaco – but the Daily Mail add that ‘the decision to sign the Frenchman is linked to Wesley Fofana’s absence due to a long-term knee injury’.
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The 20-year-old, who starred in England Under-21s European Championship triumph over the summer, is ‘expected to get a fair amount of playing opportunities’ at Chelsea with Disasi to ‘provide cover at right-centre back while Colwill will compete for a starting place on the other side of the central pairing’.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was always confident he would be keeping Colwill with the Argentinian claiming a week ago that the Liverpool-linked centre-back is “going to continue with us”.
“We don’t need to make a statement about nothing,” Pochettino told Sky Sports. “He’s our player and he’s going to continue with us.”
Colwill made 22 appearances on loan at Brighton last season and established himself as a Premier League player as the Seagulls qualified for Europe.
After witnessing his performance in a 4-3 pre-season friendly win over his former short-term employers Brighton, Pochettino commented on Colwill’s huge potential.
“I am happy with him, his performance was good today, better than what I expected because it’s only the first game with us after the season in Brighton,” Pochettino added.
“But I think he can be one of the greatest centre-backs in England.”
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