It’s a young squad that Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is working with this year, but it’s still got plenty of personality and potential within it.
A big talking point at Stamford Bridge this season has been around leadership. This comes after Enzo Maresca recently said he expects more leadership from Chelsea captain Reece James.
The Blues are miles away from having leaders such as John Terry or Dennis Wise in the dressing room, but the responsibility does fall on some current stars to set the example for the rest of their teammates.
John Obi Mikel says Chelsea defender Levi Colwill acts like a captain
John Obi Mikel has singled out Chelsea’s Levi Colwill as an individual showing great leadership traits. In particular, he’s noticed that the 21-year-old Blues defender is usually the first on the scene during any argument on the pitch to defend his teammates.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Mikel said: “Levi Colwill is the one acting like the captain right now…That little fire there that Levi Colwill has, you know, it’s a little bit like… you know, obviously I’m not comparing him with JT (John Terry), but you can see there’s something there growing a little bit.
“He’s there always to stand by his players. When one of the players get tackled or trying to be bullied, he’s always there. He’s the first person to be there and say, ‘Oi, what are you doing?’
“So that’s something, and his performances as well, not just that, his performance has been fantastic. He’s leading from the front.”
Chelsea view Colwill as a future leader and potential captain further down the line, which makes perfect sense when you watch him on the football pitch.
The left-footed centre-back wears his heart on his sleeve and is usually in the thick of confrontations. Most importantly, his game looks in a great place right now under Maresca this season.
Interestingly, Maresca views Colwill as ‘undroppable’ from Chelsea’s starting line-up right now.
Levi Colwill at the heart of Chelsea team
Colwill had a decent season in Chelsea’s first-team squad last year, but he regularly had to play out of position and cover at left-back. Now, he’s one of the first names on the team sheet in his preferred role at centre-half.
Interestingly, the England international is one of only five players to start every Premier League match for the Blues so far this season.
- Robert Sanchez
- Levi Colwill
- Moises Caicedo
- Cole Palmer
- Nicolas Jackson
As seen above, there’s finally a spine emerging at Chelsea that the manager is sticking with every week.
Colwill claims that he’s playing his “best football” under Maresca at Chelsea, which should be a popular opinion because he’s growing and maturing in the current XI.
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