Premier League manager says he hopes Chelsea let them re-sign ‘fantastic’ 20-year-old this summer

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi says he ‘hopes’ Chelsea allow Levi Colwill to stay

Brighton & Hove Albion have had a brilliant season in the Premier League and Chelsea loanee Levi Colwill has played his part in it.

The 20-year-old Chelsea centre-back has been with the Seagulls after joining them on a season-long loan last summer. He has since played 20 games across competitions for them,

Colwill isn’t a regular starter but he has provided important depth for the likes of Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk. He has undoubtedly played more at Brighton than he would have at Chelsea this season.

After all, we signed Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile under Todd Boehly to add to the defensive backline of Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Cesar Azpilicueta. Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi clearly wants to keep Colwill.

What should Chelsea do?

Speaking at his latest pre-match press conference, he said, via Metro:

“I would like to work with him for another two, three, four years. It’s difficult to find another centre-back, left centre-back, with his quality. He’s a good guy, I think he’s improving a lot. This year his improvement has been fantastic. I hope he can stay with us.”

That’s a big ask. If De Zerbi comes to Chelsea as our new manager – although there is no indication of that happening – then perhaps he can have his wish.

Otherwise, it would be foolish of the Blues to let one of their brightest young players join another Premier League club permanently. Another loan spell could benefit him.

De Zerbi’s words hint that he will play him more next season if given the chance. But the Blues could themselves be in need of an additional central defender.

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Fofana has had an injury-ridden season, Chalobah hasn’t been world-class by any means and Koulibaly has had a very poor debut campaign in England so far. Add to that Azpi’s and Silva’s age and the Spaniard’s functionality as a full-back, and we see that Colwill can fit into our first-team plans next season if we don’t sign multiple centre-backs this summer.