At times, Chelsea's club dynamic contrasts itself. Underneath a metaphorical Versace coat, is a humble blank T-shirt. There's that pairing of self-sufficiency and radical spending.
Of course, Football FanCast as a site is unfazed, as with every brilliant (and often overlooked) Chelsea academy graduate on the backdrop of extreme wealth – another 'Market Mover' or 'Where Are They Now?' subject is born.
Today's subject arrives relatively contrasting that – as his breaths of progress have been given space and time, rather than be snuffed out under the deoxygenating choke of blanket spending. To end this laborious mini-narrative… Levi Colwill is a breeze of fresh air to a club that certainly need to blow away some early-season cobwebs.
How much was Levi Colwill worth at the start of his career?
20-year-old Southampton-born Levi Colwill has been with Chelsea since the age of 9. Initially, Colwill's introduction to football came with Sunday league side City Central – and there he intriguingly played alongside Jamal Musiala.
If that wasn't enough of an indicator of quality – then Colwill's composure from an early age as well as his steady physical presence with growth, more than made up for it.
Chelsea knew what they had on their hands but also understood that men's football could make their 6 foot 2 defender develop both in stature and skill. After three senior outings in the Papa John's Trophy,
Huddersfield came in for the 18-year-old and signed him on loan in 2021. In this formative season, Colwill grabbed headlines as part of an excellent Carlos Corboran Terriers side that just missed out on promotion.
Although he scored an own goal in the playoff final defeat against Nottingham Forest – he'd widely impressed. His expected transfer value (xTV), as per Football Transfers, rose from around £3.5m (€4.1 million) in July 2021 to £6.3m (€7.3 million) after the playoffs.
What have people said about Levi Colwill?
If Colwill's adjustment to the Championship was impressive enough, more plaudits arrived when he went on another loan, this time with Brighton in the Premier League. Under yet another young and eye-catching tactician in Roberto De Zerbi, Colwill fit into a brilliantly progressive young side like a glove.
The squad that term averaged an age of 23.64 yet showed skill beyond its years. Even in just 17 league appearances, Colwill helped the group effort at Brighton to push the club to a record sixth place Premier League position last term.
Throughout his half-season, there were precursor glimpses of traits he has slowly become synonymous with. Colwill's xTV rose again last term, from £9.1m (€10.6 million) in August '22 to £10m (€11.6m) in June '23.
Out of the boardroom and back on the pitch, pair this with England U21s Euro victory – as well as impacting a Chelsea team in transition and the defender's horizons grow ever-broader. Mauricio Pochettino said in September of an England call-up:
"Levi is a player who performed really well last season, and at the Under-21 Euros, and now started the season really well with Chelsea. He is a big talent, a player who can play in different positions, centre-back and full-back. He is a great character. He is a great player and I’m happy for him. I’m hoping the next international break we have more players involved."
Gareth Southgate was another to gush over his performances, lauding a wide array of attributes within Colwill's game.
“He showed a really good temperament in the League last year, and in the summer with the Under-21s he was outstanding. Levi has a real maturity about his calmness with the ball. He’s got good physical attributes. He’s got speed and the ability to defend the box well.”
Statistically, how good is Levi Colwill now?
On a more statistical basis, compared to other centre-backs – Colwill's numbers parallel his ascent in value.
FBref shows that Colwill excels both in attack and defence, despite at times being described by some as quite one-footed. In a bracket of players that contains the likes of Napoli's Amir Rrahmani, Real Madrid's David Alaba and Inter's Alessandro Bastoni – Colwill sits in a high percentile for numerous statistics. His purely progressive mindset is reflected.
For the somewhat optimistic shot-creating actions, he's in the top 3%. For expected non-penalty goals and assists – he's in the top 2%. So, he offers a potential threat.
Most likely this is aerial, as he wins 2.86 per 90 (top 15%) yet that's not all. What's more impressive are the 78.57 passes attempted per 90 (top 5%) and the 1.23 progressive carries per 90 (top 11%).
Admittedly, his core defensive aspects could be improved – i.e. blocks and tackles. However, that could be perceived more on the team collective than just Colwill. Additionally, the Premier League season (at the time of writing) is a mere seven games old.
What's Levi Colwill worth now?
Since his formative loan spell at Huddersfield, the likely soon-to-be England starter has become a real market mover – with an increased price of (value) for any potential suitors. In an era of extreme Boehly-bolstered spending not immediately reaping success,
Colwill's ascent shows that once again – after examples of Reece James or the distant success of Declan Rice – the Blues should potentially put more onus on their homegrown talents.
The 6 foot 2 centre-back who has also been compared to club icon John Terry, has risen to an xTV of £15.2 m (€17.5m) with a transfer window peak of £18.2 million (€21.1m) in August '23.
As of June '23, the Daily Mail had reported that not even bids in excess of £40m would make Chelsea even consider selling Colwill. That was amid interest from Brighton with the Seagulls looking to bring him back to the Amex Stadium after a successful loan spell.
Furthermore, he recently put pen to paper on a six-year deal, that's how important they see him for the future, as his financial worth and indeed personal worth to the club grows more and more at Stamford Bridge.
