Young Chelsea Levi Colwill will look to leave the club if Thomas Tuchel signs three centre-backs this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 19-year-old missed out on Chelsea’s first pre-season game against Club America due to a minor injury.
His inclusion in the pre-season squad, however, suggests that Tuchel plans to assess and give him an opportunity to impress this summer after a successful loan spell at Huddersfield Town last summer.
In May, Colwill said that he was ready to take the next step to the Premier League. Whether it will be at Chelsea is now a question mark.
Romano claims that the young centre-back, who has unsurprisingly generated a lot of interest from other Premier League clubs, is exploring his options this summer.
“He could leave Chelsea in case two centre-backs arrive after Koulibaly” the Italian transfer expert explained on Twitter.
“Chelsea are still working on [potential deals for Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel] Kimpembe and [Sevilla’s Jules] Kounde.”
From Colwill’s point of view, it makes sense to consider other options if, as Romano suggests, Tuchel wants to bring in two more defenders this summer.
As things stand, Colwill is behind Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, and perhaps even Malang Sarr in the pecking order.
He could easily be sixth- or seventh-choice centre-back if Chelsea signed the two players they have been linked with and likely the third option for the left centre-back role behind Koulibaly and Kimpembe.
The Athletic claims that at least six Premier League clubs; Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham, Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Everton, are interested in him, which arguably makes becoming an emergency backup player at Chelsea far less appealing an option for him.
Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori’s career trajectories at Palace and AC Milan, respectively, may also influence his eventual decision.
The Blues are under very little pressure to sell the young talent permanently, however, with him having three years left in his contract.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.