Gareth Southgate explains why he employed Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill as left-back
Gareth Southgate gave his opinion of the performance of Levi Colwill in England’s 1-0 win over Australia, as the Chelsea centre-back finally made his national team debut.
Colwill, 22, was also employed by Southgate as a left-back, a position with which he is already familiar thanks to Mauricio Pochettino’s use of the player at Chelsea.
It seems Colwill has adjusted well to the fullback position given that he is a centre-back and has been a standout player for the Blues alongside Axel Disasi and Thiago Silva.
However, many Chelsea fans want to see Colwill operate from his natural position, but Pochettino has remained adamant about playing him as a left-back.
Colwill national team manager Southgate was also impressed by his performance, but many assumed he would play as a centre-back, but the Three Lions manager utilised him as a left-back. He later revealed the reason why he used Colwill as a left-back in England’s 1-0 win over Australia, (h/t Football. London) and said:
“Levi is a young defender; we know he is not a left-back as his first choice. But he is filling that spot for his club, and we wanted players where they play for their clubs, so it is as smooth as they could be.”
Seeing him play as a left-back for Chelsea, Southgate might have decided to use him there because both the left-backs, Luke Shaw and Ben Chiwell, are injured. So using Levi Colwill was the only option for Southgate, given that he has blossomed in that position at Chelsea.
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Meanwhile, Pochettino is using Colwill as a left-back because of his change in formation and the injury to Christopher Nkunku.In pre-season, we saw the 22-year-old playing in his natural position. But once Nkunku returns, we could see Colwill go back to playing as a centre-back.