There are no guarantees Levi Colwill will start the season in Chelsea‘s defence, says Mauricio Pochettino, who has challenged him to prove his readiness to play.
Colwill, who has signed a new six-year deal in a significant boost for the club, especially given the interest in the talented 20-year-old.
Brighton — where Colwill spent last season on loan — have made two bids for him this summer and he posted a parting thank-you message to the Seagulls on Tuesday ahead of confirmation of his Chelsea extension.
The expected playing opportunities were a factor in Colwill’s willingness to commit to Chelsea and, in the immediate future, his prospects of game time appear good with fellow left-footed centre back Benoit Badiashile recovering from a serious hamstring injury.
Pochettino is in no doubt about Colwill’s potential and declared earlier in Chelsea’s US tour that ‘he can be one of the greatest centre backs in England’ and yesterday labelled him ‘a fantastic talent’.
Levi Colwill has signed a fresh six-year deal at Chelsea worth over £100,000-a-week
Mauricio Pochettino wants Colwill to prove himself as a worthy starter for his Chelsea side
But the Chelsea head coach insisted Colwill will have to earn a spot in his side.
‘We assume he is going to play. I was clear with him, we were talking about him having the possibility to compete with different team-mates,’ said Pochettino. ‘If he deserves to play, he will play.
‘The possibility to play is higher because Ben Badiashile is injured and he is left-footed and will compete with Ben. He needs to deserve it, it’s not because of one player’s injury, different types of combinations can happen.
‘At the moment I need to see him and we need to know each other better. He is a fantastic talent. We are talking also about how we can improve his game in all areas.’
Competition for places in Chelsea’s defence is set to increase further. On Tuesday, Axel Disasi arrived in England for a medical ahead of his £39million move.
Chelsea also confirmed the £23.5m capture of defensive midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu from Rennes. Ugochukwu, 19, signed a seven-year deal with the option of a further year and has joined up with the squad in America ahead of their pre- season friendly against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
Pochettino said he would assess the young midfielder in training and then decide whether to send him out on loan. The Dortmund game is Chelsea’s last before the start of the new Premier League season in nine days and Pochettino confirmed they will not be adding any fixtures following a tiring tour.
He said: ‘Sometimes we think players are machines but they suffer because of changes (on tour), different pitches to train on, many important details.’
The English defender, 20, enjoyed an extremely impressive loan spell with Brighton last season
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