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Levi Colwill, Cobham's next big star

03/01/2022

Ben Chilwell, Emile Smith-Rowe, Trevoh Chalobah and now Levi Colwill, it is fair to say that Huddersfield Town has a proven track record loaning Premier League teenagers, but does Colwill have the potential to go the furthest?
The Championship is a lion's den for young players and Levi at only 18 has looked out of place, because of how good he is. He is 1.87 meters tall, strong and powerful. If you were to ask any fan of another club to estimate Colwill's age just by his stature and ability on the pitch, they would be forgiven for presuming he is 26 or 27, he is a freak in that sense. You can get away with playing a teenager at full back, or as a striker, but at centre back is practically unheard of. Marc Guehi and Ben Cabango two exceptional centre backs who made their debuts as 19 year olds, and didn't get a proper season until they were 20, are probably the closest thing the Championship has seen to Colwill, for some time. The 2 year age gap doesn't seem a long time, but in development terms it is massive.
From his 20 appearances so far this season, Town's number 26 has 1 goal, 1 assist, an average of 1.65 points per match, 18 goals against while on the field and 23 goals for. It has been a stellar start to life in West Yorkshire for Levi.

How do his statistics compare? (against players who have made more than 15 appearances at centre back)

He ranks joint first for tackles completed per game with 2.1 tackles, while is dribbled past 0.4 times per game which is joint 14th best. Interception wise, he averages 1.3 per game, which no player under 21 ranks better in the division. When it comes to fouls committed, he is only making 0.7 per 90 which is impressive for a player in his first year in the Professional game. He also blocks 0.7 shots per game. His aerial success rate is 64%, which is an area of the game he probably needs to work on.
In possession, his stats only get stronger, he averages a dribble success of 75%, while completing 0.6 dribbles per game (4th best), 52.4 passes, 0.4 key passes (7th best) and a pass accuracy of 78.7%. Whoscored ranks him as the 10th best centre back in the league with an average rating of 7.06, which he is also joint top of the Town rankings with Lewis O'Brien. For even more of a comparison, fans view Lewis O'Brien as a young player and one who has huge potential and Colwill is 4.5 years younger than him.
It must be said however he is still learning, Levi has made a few mistakes in his time in West Yorkshire, the mistake for the opening goal at Bristol, the huge chance missed in Cardiff, that probably would have put the game out of reach for the Bluebirds, who ended up coming back and winning. Then losing his header to Kieffer Moore for the first Cardiff goal and then gave him the space for a free header for the second. It is probably harsh on him though as he has been a vital fixture of Town's backline this season. Steven Chicken noted in the Examiner conclusions that Town average a goal conceded every 99.3 minutes when Colwill is on the pitch, compared with 50.3 when not (as of 03/01/2022). Fundamentally Town are much a better team when Levi is on the pitch. His winning goal at Sheffield United came from great movement to get into the position then the calm composure needed to finish in injury time infront of the away fans was flawless.

Could he do a job for Chelsea next season?

With Antonio Rudiger looking likely to leave Chelsea at the end of the season, there will be a gap in the back three that Thomas Tuchel likes to play. Tuchel likes his defenders to be comfortable ball players, who are happy to drive with the ball out of defence and Colwill fits that bill. With Thiago Silva signing today with Chelsea for another season in the centre of the back three, Levi asks a genuine question of at least covering the left centre back area, if not starting. The only caveat to that being, if Chelsea continues to persist with Trevoh Chalobah on the right (and there is no reason not to), whether Tuchel thinks his defence is a bit too weak to be challenging for the title.
Another option Chelsea take is to loan out Colwill to a Premier League side and I believe he is capable to play for any side outside the top 6 and look comfortable. In my view not to a side looking likely for relegation. Billy Gilmour has been thrown in the deep end at a Norwich side which lacks quality (yes I know that Norwich side destroyed Town 7-0). You don't have to look further than Connor Gallagher at Crystal Palace this season to see how a player like him, who is still developing, is thriving in that environment after a difficult loan to West Brom last season.

Qatar 2022?

It is probably getting ahead of ourselves that Levi can go to the World Cup, but like how Chelsea like to play with that back 3, England also do and even when they play a back 4, Southgate loves having a left-footed centre-half in the squad. Tyrone Mings has too many mistakes in him and there isn't really an alternative to him. John Stones has played there before, but firstly, he isn't left-footed and secondly is back out of favour at City again.
Qatar is an unrealistic target in all honesty, but it will only be a matter of time before he gets a call-up. If he keeps his current trajectory going, he is going to be a key player for Chelsea and England in the years to come.

The Final Word.

As mentioned at the start of this piece, Town have seen Emile Smith-Rowe come in and perform, but for me, Colwill is a level above. He has fitted in perfectly alongside Lees and Pearson and as a unit, those three have provided a great foundation for Lee Nicholls in goal. At 18 moving from London up to Huddersfield is going to be a daunting task, especially when your family is from Southampton and from the outside he has coped brilliantly. A smart move from Town to sign him on loan and hopefully his performances continue to flourish.