Levi Colwill: From the Championship to representing England in just one year…
Levi Colwill’s rapid rise from the Championship to earning a call-up to the England squad just showcases his exceptional talent and development as a defender. In honour of this, I wanted to delve into his career journey, highlighting key moments, expert opinions, fan responses, and what makes his distinctive play style so valued.
Colwill began his football journey in the youth system of Chelsea. Well kind of. He really began his journey out on the streets of Southampton…not exactly the Favelas but it is where he honed his craft alongside fellow Chelsea academy star and now world-class talent, Jamal Musiala. It does make you think…back then do you reckon they could even imagine the paths they would take in the years that followed?
He mentions how they ‘played for the same Sunday team [City Central FC]’ and ‘went up together for Chelsea trials’ he emphasises how they ‘have just done everything together.’ He progressed through the various age groups at Chelsea, displaying promise as a talented defender early on. Expert coaches and talent scouts recognized his potential as a unique left-footed centre back and nurtured his development, laying the foundation for his future success from even the U9’s level. The young gun only made his under-19s debut in September 2019, appearing in the UEFA Youth League in a match against Valencia (at just 16 years old!) further showing his emphatic rise from young unknown upstart to one of the top rated centre backs in the Premier League in just these few years.
The Englishman began to make further appearances for Chelsea’s development squad in early 2020. But his season ended early after picking up a knee injury in the FA Youth Cup win over Millwall at Stamford Bridge. He made 23 appearances for the Blues’ under-23s and signed his first professional contract on his 17th birthday in February 2020. Colwill returned to the pitch in the 2020–21 season and became a mainstay of the club’s under-23s. He appeared 18 times in the Premier League 2, scoring once, and also made two appearances in the FA Youth Cup and three in the EFL Trophy. However, Chelsea didn’t deem him ready to make the step up to join the first team just yet…
And for that reason…he went on loan to Championship side, Huddersfield. Colwill’s loan move to Huddersfield Town for the 2021–2022 season proved instrumental in his development. His professional debut came on August 1 in the EFL Cup, where he played a part in Huddersfield’s 4–2 penalty shootout victory against Sheffield Wednesday.
Just 20 days later, Colwill even showcased his attacking prowess by scoring his first senior goal, securing a late winner in Huddersfield’s 2–1 triumph over Sheffield United. Throughout the season, the young defender faced challenges such as ankle, knee, and hip injuries, along with a bout of Covid. Despite these setbacks, Colwill displayed resilience and managed to make 32 appearances in all competitions for Huddersfield. Colwill played a vital role in Huddersfield’s campaign, contributing to their rise from a 20th-place finish the previous season to securing a commendable third-place finish and a spot in the play-offs.
He gave high praise to former-Terriers head coach, Carlos Corberan crediting him for the faith he paid in him at the time. He received high praise from almost everyone at Huddersfield. Leigh Bromby, head of football operations at Huddersfield at the time, arguably his biggest proponent:
“Some players come in from bigger clubs and think maybe it will be easy. He has humility and openness to come in and work for his place and buy into what we are doing.
“He has been excellent and is not only a credit to himself but Chelsea, with the way they work with players and prepare them. The way he has fit into the dressing room has been unbelievable.
“The players and staff really like him and love working with him. He’s looking to improve and working to get better. Talent-wise, for his age, he is the best I’ve seen when I’ve either been playing or coaching.
“The chances, for me, are so high that he will go back and play for Chelsea and England.” Turns out he might be spot on…
Now let’s dive into the tactics…Carlos Corberan in his time at Huddersfield and De Zerbi at Brighton have both played their own roles in his development but both also have their own distinct defensive tactics that Colwill has adapted his play into, although they do share some similarities that has allowed him to slot in to both sides comfortably.
Corberan’s Huddersfield often deployed a high defensive line, taking risks to cover the back sectors and regain possession quickly. Their pressing was characterised by efficiency rather than sheer volume, with moments of intense pressure complemented by periods of defending deep in their own half. In contrast, De Zerbi’s Brighton focuses on limiting the opposition’s key players and tactical plans. Their collective and intense pressing is angled effectively, with forwards splitting apart and midfielders compacting to overload one side. Brighton’s solid defensive stance is reinforced by a midfield pivot that excels in ball-winning, leaving players like Colwill to use their quality passing ability to create chances and control games from the back, while their wide areas are used to force the opposition into defensively overloaded traps. Despite these differences, both managers emphasise energy, work rate, and overloading specific areas of the pitch to disrupt the opponent’s play. I will go further in depth on Levi Colwill’s position in this De Zerbi system further down. These foundations drilled into Levi by Corberan at Huddersfield allowed him to really push on as a player and allowed him to have the breakthrough season he had worked so hard for and eventually break into De Zerbi’s side further down the line.
But unfortunately, Colwill’s breakthrough season did not culminate in a fairytale ending. In the Championship play-off final in May, he unintentionally scored an own goal, which ultimately resulted in Nottingham Forest claiming a 1–0 victory over Huddersfield. However, as a regular starter in the Championship side’s defence, he showcased maturity beyond his years. Fan responses were positive, praising his composure, positioning, and tackling abilities as his stand out features. From watching clips of his time there, it did seem he struggled with the Championship’s intensity compared to academy football at first but this is something he seemed to adapt to quickly and by the end of his time, he showed a far matured game sense and competency to deal with the more intense and physical matchups. Rolls-royce of a centre back it seemed…does make you think what did Chelsea not see in him that meant he wasn’t ready for the first team! While these performances, in the eyes of many, seemingly set him up to burst onto the scene back in London, it just wasn’t to be…not yet anyway.
Luckily, as a Brighton fan anyway, this worked out perfectly for us. Following his successful stint at Huddersfield, Colwill secured a loan move to Brighton & Hove Albion for the 2022–2023 season.
Colwill got his first Premier league minutes (well in this case maybe just minute but nonetheless!) under then Brighton boss Graham Potter. He was brought on late as a substitute in an opening day victory against Manchester United back in August 2022. From there, many assumed he might quickly assert himself into a centre back partnership with Lewis Dunk but he struggled to find his footing in Potter’s side with minimal game time only coming only in the Carabao cup and through substitute cameos.
But, once again, you can’t lose hope with Levi Colwill…with Potter’s departure in September bringing in a new era under Italian tactician Roberto De Zerbi, many were concerned with how Colwill might stand under the new regime. These fears were fulfilled as it seemed Colwill would not play a prominent role in this side with him not even making the matchday squad on many occasions early on. However, hope wasn’t lost when he finally began breaking through in November, presumably catching the eye of the forever-adapting De Zerbi. His impact was immediately notable.
Levi Colwill has now become an important player in De Zerbi’s system. Colwill has shown his comfort in operating the very possession-heavy ideologies, perhaps a skill he picked up in his time at Huddersfield as we went in depth on. Colwill’s inclusion has shown De Zerbi’s reliance on a solid defensive foundation, his original selections were Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster as he pointed them out to be exceptional, towering, and imposing defenders, and Colwill’s ability to seamlessly fit into this defensive structure would further reinforce Brighton’s defensive solidity as he fits the profile exactly and has the on the ball quality De Zerbi insists upon. Colwill’s performances alongside the experienced Dunk have been impressive and he hasn’t looked out of place once.
Additionally, we know De Zerbi prefers a collective and intense pressing approach, and the midfield pivot plays a crucial role in ball-winning. This emphasises the importance of Colwill’s contribution in pressing and regaining possession, as defenders play a key role in initiating the press and disrupting the opposition’s build-up play. His unique quality being the fact is left-footed contributes to this vision also.
Overall, Levi Colwill’s emergence in De Zerbi’s system highlights his adaptability, defensive capabilities, and potential as a young defender. His inclusion in the team demonstrates De Zerbi’s trust in his abilities and his importance to Brighton’s defensive organisation. In fact, we know he is highly valued with the £30M and £40M bids we have made to Chelsea in the last few weeks in an attempt to secure his services on a permanent basis…here’s hoping we can sort out a deal and the next time I write about Levi Colwill, it will be BRIGHTON player, Levi Colwill.
To conclude, it must be said…the journey from Chelsea U9s to now representing England at senior international level is purely a testament to his talent and dedication. With his exceptional playing style, composure on the ball, defensive abilities, and rapid development, Colwill has the potential to achieve great heights in his career. As Brighton continue to battle Chelsea in an effort to tie him down, the football world eagerly awaits his next steps and anticipates his continued growth on both the domestic and international stages.
