Ever since the mass introduction of Cobham graduates into the first team during the 2019-20 season under the former head coach Frank Lampard, Chelsea have made it a habit to freshen the squad with young players straight from the academy or those that have earned a spot after a successful loan spell at another club.
Levi Colwill, a talented central defender, is the most recent Cobham product the fanbase is raving about and who will be ushered into the team for the upcoming season.
Making his name after an accomplished loan stint at Brighton & Hove Albion and recently a series of commanding performances leading to the under-21 European Championship triumph, Colwill caught the attention of many.
This article will analyze the many qualities of his game to understand how Colwill can contribute to Chelsea's resurgence in 2023.
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Commencing his senior career at Huddersfield Town in the second division of the English pyramid, Levi Colwill fast-tracked his career trajectory to the Premier League after guiding the Terriers to the Championship playoff final in the same season, which they lost to Nottingham Forest.
Brighton & Hove Albion took notice of the Chelsea player's progress and brought him on board as a loanee in the prior campaign.
After just 17 appearances in the Premier League, the Seagulls needed no more convincing of the young man's potential. According to talkSPORT, Brighton launched a record £40 million bid to secure the services of the Englishman that Chelsea unhesitantly declined.
Rumors are suggesting more strong interest from other clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool as they look to reinforce their defensive department.
But what makes the youngster an appealing candidate for so many?
We turn to data once again to provide the answers.
Although he is a defender, we will first look at his statistical performance on the ball as Colwill has honed his passing technique and composure in possession at Brighton over the past year.
Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton & Hove Albion's current head coach, emphasizes his center backs to exude composure and resistance to pressure as they are responsible for luring opposition attackers to commit to a press by standing still with the ball at their feet, ready to make the first defense-splitting pass.
After the attacker falls into the trap, Brighton commences a series of passing sequences to cut through the opposition's defensive structure.
But its foundation relies on the passing ability and poise of their central defenders and goalkeeper.
Being capable of discharging these functions, Levi Colwill was trusted by the Italian manager whenever fit.
And this is reflected by his passing output.
(Levi Colwill's percentile ranking in different metrics compared to positional peers in the Men's Big 5 Leagues, UCL, and UEL over the last 365 days based on the 1220 minutes played)
Furthermore, when comparing his output to other defenders in the Premier League that have played 900 minutes or more, Levi Colwill stands out at his tender age.
Although he ranks below average for progressive carries compared to other defenders in the division, Colwill's 5.15 progressive passes per match place him in the top 20 in the Premier League for that metric - with only less than half of those being true central defenders, while the majority are fullbacks.
That figure is more admirable when taking into account his experience. Colwill was the youngest defender in the first division with more than 900 minutes of game time. At this early age, Colwill delivered numbers better than more senior players.
(The chart represents the tendency of defenders in the Premier League to progress the ball through passing and carries)
Analyzing the defensive aspect of footballers is a difficult task using data, as numbers may be skewed depending on the team's possession. For example, Neco Williams of Nottingham Forest ranks first for tackles and interceptions made per game, whereas Marc Cucurella is tenth.
That is logical as Nottingham Forest recorded an average possession of 37.6%, the lowest in the Premier League, whereas Chelsea averaged 58.7%, the fifth best in the division.
Therefore, with Nottingham spending a larger chunk of the match without the ball on average, their defenders would be expected to perform defensive actions more frequently.
In order to neutralize the effect of a team's possession on the data to a considerable extent, analysts created a technique called possession adjustment.
There are numerous methods to adjust for possession, of which one factors the rate of defensive actions per opposition touch.
When adjusting the tackles and interceptions data for the two players mentioned above, Marc Cucurella ranks first, while Neco Williams is sixth - telling us that the Spanish left-back performs more tackles and interceptions than any other player in the league per opposition touch that the team faces.
And that was adopted to generate the graph below.
(Possession-adjusted defensive actions per 90' by defenders in the Premier League with more than 900 minutes)
Although Levi Colwill does not post outstanding defensive contributions, it is wise to note that data has limitations too.
In this case, it may just be that the defensive midfielders at Brighton are mopping up most of the opposition attacks, leaving the defenders very little to do.
In a recent article by writers of The Athletic, Liam Twomey, Mark Carey, and Thom Harris, they analyzed Moises Caicedo thoroughly.
They found that the Ecuadorian ranked favorably in most defensive metrics, which could have contributed to the decreased out-of-possession output by the defensive unit - which could explain why Colwill's teammates, Lewis Dunk (bright yellow circle above Colwill's plot on the graph) and Adam Webster, rank similarly in defensive output.
(Source: The Athletic)
Nevertheless, upon examination of the twenty-year-old center back's match footage, it is evident that the youngster has solid defensive awareness, the ability to track back, and timely execute crunching but clean tackles.
Another compelling facet of Colwill's playstyle that was well on display in the Premier League and recently in the under-21 Euros is his dominance in the air - evidenced again by the data.
(Colwill recorded above average output for aerials competed per match and aerial duel win percentage)
To summarize Colwill's attributes, he is a strong ball progressor who allows the team to play out from the back, a capable defender, and an authoritative figure in the air.
At just twenty, he ranks as a well-rounded center-back that fits the modern requirements of the role. And with plenty of years ahead in his career, Colwill can grow into one of the best central defenders in the world.
With Pochettino generally favoring a back-four system, Levi Colwill would be deployed in the left center-back role whenever called upon. However, with the arrival of Benoit Badiashile in January '23 and a host of other signings, the Englishman will have to battle it out with the Frenchman whenever fit for the same position.
But how does each rank with the other in all metrics?
(Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill's percentile ranking in different metrics compared to positional peers in the Men's Big 5 Leagues, UCL, and UEL over the last 365 days based on their minutes played)
Colwill betters Badiashile's passing and ball progression numbers by a fair margin, indicating that the Cobham-bred defender will be more reliable in possession. And though the latter posted better defensive figures, it is simply because Chelsea faced more defensive opportunities than Brighton in the season gone by.
Nevertheless, Mauricio Pochettino will be quite pleased with knowing that both players profile similarly across most figures - allowing the new head coach to rotate between the two without worrying about a significant drop in quality.
According to multiple sources, Benoit Badiashile is targeting a return for the start of the 2023-24 campaign after suffering a hamstring injury towards the tail-end of last season. After a £70 million move from Leicester City, Wesley Fofana sustained another injury, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), for which he underwent surgery and will miss the majority of the coming season.
These unfortunate events have paved the way for an uncontested left-sided central defensive role for Levi Colwill to capitalize on as only two other regular senior team center-backs, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah, have traveled for the tour of the USA - neither of whom are left-footed.
(Source: Getty)
For the past few weeks, there were many rumors surrounding a potential transfer of Levi Colwill to Brighton and Liverpool, who are huge admirers of the player. But Chelsea's stance on the situation has been clear as the hierarchy is adamant for the youngster to shine in West London blue and establish himself as one of the pillars in the club's new youthful era.
As Mauricio Pochettino guides Chelsea into a new transitional phase, they will hope Levi Colwill will stay for the long run and contribute to their success.
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