Levi Colwill will not be heading back to Chelsea in January now he’s accumulated a certain number of minutes for Huddersfield Town.
According to The Athletic, the Blues have missed their chance to end the teenager’s loan spell with the Terriers prematurely due to his prominent role in the side.
Why did Chelsea want Colwill to come back so soon?
Suggestions had been made that Colwill might make an early return to Stamford Bridge, due to the club’s fears over the contracts of Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen.
All three of Thomas Tuchel’s defenders are edging closer to the exit door, as their deals continue to near their expiration date.
Each could be snapped up by a foreign suitor this month, or saved until the end of the season.
Either way, the uncertain nature of the situation has caused the chain of command to comb the market for possible alternatives.
Jules Kounde has not left the list of targets since the saga with Sevilla last summer.
Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo is reportedly now being discussed as another option.
Staying in the second division
The cheaper solution would be to retrieve Colwill from his home in Huddersfield, where he has really settled since swapping Cobham for the Championship.
“Levi Colwill has been fantastic so far,” said teammate Tom Lees.
“I don’t have a bad word to say about him.”
However, it appears Chelsea will need to spend their pennies now the prospect of reclaiming the young centre-half has gone out of the window.
The Athletic say that a clause was included in the 18-year-old’s contract, specifying that the Blues could only retrieve him in January if he failed to play a certain number of games.
With 21 appearances to his name, it’s safe to say the England youth international has reached this threshold.
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