Leicester City are reportedly planning a summer move for Chelsea starlet Levi Colwill after failing to lure him to the King Power Stadium in January.
According to the Mirror, Chelsea defensive prospect Levi Colwill has emerged as a transfer target for Leicester City. The 19-year-old is currently away on loan at EFL Championship outfit Huddersfield Town.
Colwill joined the Chelsea youth academy from Southampton in 2011 and has enjoyed steady progress through the ranks at Cobham. Having made 26 appearances for the Blues’ Under-23 setup, the teenage defender joined Huddersfield Town on a season-long loan in the summer transfer window last year.
Since joining the Terriers, Colwill has excelled in the EFL Championship, becoming an integral part of their promotion bid. Huddersfield are currently third in the table and are in with a chance to clinch automatic promotion to the Premier League. And Colwill has featured 22 times for the club, scoring two goals and assisting one more.
Primarily a centre-back, Colwill can also slot in at left-back if needed. The 19-year-old has been on the radars of Leicester City for some time now, with the Foxes’ scouts monitoring his progress at Huddersfield. The report even adds that the Premier League bigwigs attempted to sign him in January but were unable to pull off a deal.
However, Leicester are set to try to sign Colwill again in the summer transfer window, with Rodgers keen on defensive reinforcements. This season, the Foxes have been poor at the back, with Jonny Evans struggling with injuries and Caglar Soyuncu’s form nosediving drastically. New signing Jannik Vestergaard has been disappointing, while Wesley Fofana has been out injured since pre-season.
With Evans turning 34 earlier this year, it might be time for Leicester to start phasing him out slowly. Fofana, despite his injury, continues to attract interest from top clubs. So, the Midlands outfit will need to sign at least one new centre-back in the summer. And, Colwill has emerged as a target for Rodgers’ side.
Chelsea, though, rate the 19-year-old highly and have him tied down to a long-term contract until 2025. But Leicester City plan to prise the youngster away from their fellow top-flight bigwig by offering him a faster pathway to first-team football in the Premier League.
However, it must be noted that Colwill could get a chance to break into the Blues’ senior setup next season, considering that Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta are being linked with exits. If he makes an impression on manager Thomas Tuchel in pre-season, like Trevoh Chalobah did last year, he could get fast-tracked into the Chelsea first team.
An intriguing summer awaits Colwill, who will be aiming to continue his run of fine performances and help Huddersfield Town return to the Premier League next season.