Levi Colwill: Should Chelsea consider recalling the centre-back?

Chelsea have had quite a busy transfer window. London’s Blues completely dominated the market with signing after signing, outbidding and ultimately outspending the opposition to ensure multiple marquee arrivals. Players such as João Félix from Atletico Madrid, Enzo Fernández from Benfica and Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk were just some of the bigger names to make the switch to the Premier League.

But interestingly, despite so much money being spent on “outsiders”, it’s from within that Chelsea’s strongest reinforcements could eventually spring. Indeed, Levi Colwill, the highly touted youngster currently on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion, is among those players destined to eventually slot into Graham Potter’s squad. After all, the defender has been with Chelsea since his childhood days and has recently seen his reputation soar.

So, this tactical analysis will present you with a complete scout report on Levi Colwill, putting his skillset in the context of Brighton’s tactics and using further analysis to identify his strengths and weaknesses.

Player overview

Colwill is a 19-year-old centre-back currently plying his trade at Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League. Standing at 187cm (6’2”) and weighing 83kg (182lbs), the defender is well-built for the role, boasting a tall, lean physique with enough muscle, power and speed. But perhaps the trait that makes his profile even more interesting is the fact that Colwill is left-footed. Players of his ilk, especially centre-backs, are quickly becoming a commodity in world football.

Below, we can see Colwill’s full statistical player profile, including attacking, passing and defensive metrics for the 2022/23 season in the Premier League.

Starting with the first category, we can immediately recognise some of Colwill’s tendencies and strengths. He is a player of immense technical quality on the ball and can be a weapon for both chance creation and progression, as seen from his 0.18 shot assists per 90 (70th percentile among CBs), 0.030 expected assists per 90 (81st percentile) and 1.76 progressive runs per 90 (91.8th percentile). These numbers may not be earth-shattering on their own but in the world of Premier League centre-backs, they put Colwill in the top 30%, 19% and 8.2% in the three categories respectively.

When it comes to pure passing ability, the 19-year-old is at the very top of the pile. In fact, Colwill ranks in minimum the top 30% in every single passing metric we’ve listed in our graph but is more often around the top 15% and even above. His defensive output, while not as impressive, is still commendable where it matters the most.

More on that, and his weaknesses, in the following sections of our tactical analysis.

Passing & progression

Colwill’s undoubtedly biggest weapons lie in possession of the ball. Being a left-footed centre-back makes the 19-year-old a unique tool to have within the squad. And there aren’t many coaches in world football who know how to best use that tool than Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi. The Seagulls are one of the most fascinating teams in the league and Colwill fits their tactics perfectly.

Playing for a team that knows how to control the ball and that has an intricate, if not complex, structural identity means Colwill needs to be versatile in his approach and solid in his foundations. Luckily, he is both. But let’s start with the basics and consult some data before moving on to tactics.

Here, we can see Colwill’s touch and heatmaps for the 2022/23 season in the Premier League and the FA Cup. This will tell us more about his on-the-ball tendencies and how and where he usually moves. Playing as the left centre-back in Brighton’s largely four-at-the-back system, Colwill is often tasked with heavy progression and link-up duties. But the maps immediately tell us he does not simply progress the ball via passing but is rather adventurous in his approach, often running with it to disrupt opposition defensive blocks.

While the left half-space remains at the fulcrum of his on-ball activity, Colwill can and does drift wider to cover and interchange positions or even bursts forward to link up with the forwards and create chances in the final third. As such, he is an asset in every phase of the game. But staying on the topic of progression, let’s analyse the two main ways to advance play: via runs and via passing.

The latest graph shows all of Colwill’s progression actions in the Premier League and the FA Cup, including penetrative carries and penetrative passes that went right into the opposition’s box (depicted in pink). As seen from the introductory section of this scout report, Colwill’s progressive metrics in both categories are elite. Regarding carrying the ball, the graph shows us most of his runs originate in the left half-space but they also vary in length and height of their starting position.

Colwill is not afraid to carry the ball straight from his defensive third if the opportunity arises. And this is a major talking point in all of his on-ball activity – risk vs reward. The 19-year-old’s temperament in possession is already at an incredibly high level, showing maturity beyond his age. As such, he is very composed and patient, doesn’t rush into actions and is exhibiting a risk-averse profile with a healthy dose of adventurism. When it comes to runs, they work best when combined with both his physical and technical quality.

The Chelsea loanee’s strong physique and big steps mean he’s difficult to stop once he gets going and while he isn’t a dribbler at all, he will devour open space rather quickly. As we’ve also seen from the previous graph, Colwill will often start his run diagonally from right to left before attempting to link up with either his left wide player(s) or dropping/inverting forwards.

These sequences help illustrate the intricacies behind those runs. In essence, they are not overly complex; if Colwill is afforded space, he will attack it, which inevitably attracts markers to his position, opening space elsewhere and giving his teammates more room to manoeuvre. In the images here, the 19-year-old accesses the left winger directly by breaking lines with a through ball into space (image 1) and then by breaking the lines again to reach a midfielder open in the half-space who then lays it off wide (image 2).

In both instances, Colwill’s carrying to get into a good position and then ball-playing were crucial to finding the free man in various areas of the pitch. This, above all else, is crucial for Brighton’s tactics. The angles Colwill can exploit as a left-footer in a back two and the quality with which he executes those actions are paramount to De Zerbi’s approach to football. The quality can be seen in the perfect weight Colwill applies to his passes, dosing the power correctly in the vast majority of instances, as evidenced by 90.31% passing accuracy and 84.71% forward passing accuracy in the Premier League this season respectively.

It’s also interesting how his passing is equally impressive when he’s afforded time and space and when he’s under pressure. Generally, it takes him one or two touches to deploy a pass as he will either use one touch to set up and then the other to deploy or simply let the ball roll across his body until he can exploit the right angle to continue. You can see two such instances next. Note there are two sequences in the following image: The first action includes the top left and top right pictures while the second action consists of the bottom left and bottom right picture.

This, however, brings us to the first exploitable weakness in his profile: one-footedness. Colwill’s left foot is extraordinary, but he actively avoids using his right. This means his out-to-in passing has reached elite levels while he still struggles with some in-to-out sequences unless he’s perfectly opened his body to exploit that angle. Having said that, Colwill is good at moving correctly to open passing channels that were previously unavailable.

That trait comes naturally because of two different but interconnected aspects: understanding the space around him and understanding his team’s structure. For instance, Brighton often utilise the third man to access difficult areas of the pitch and are all about finding the free player in pockets within the opposition’s defensive structure. Sometimes, this can be done by breaking the lines with a single pass, something Colwill is exceptional at, but at other times it will require a sequence of drilled passes that involve multiple players across multiple areas of the pitch.

One of Colwill’s regular connections is with the left wide players. But how he gains access to them depends on the opposition’s defensive block. The most common pattern is receiving the ball, carrying it forward and then linking up with his teammates on the left. But if that direct route is blocked, he will try and play into the dropping midfielder or the pivot who will subsequently lay the ball off wide. Sometimes, however, additional movement will be necessary to keep the action going.

In these sequences we can see two examples of Colwill creating a passing lane where none was previously available. Both, too, seem quite basic at first but having a strong base, a foundation, is, as previously stated, key in successfully performing his role. Another very important aspect to mention here is Colwill’s willingness to always have the ball at his feet. He will regularly call for it and has the confidence to retain possession in almost any scenario. For a 19-year-old, quite admirable.

But all of this circles back to that temperament and maturity on the ball. Colwill won’t unnecessarily rush into high-risk, high-reward actions and will rather wait for the opposition to make the first move. This, admittedly, has De Zerbi’s fingertips all over it as Brighton are excellent at masking their intentions, especially in the first phase of build-up play. Both centre-backs and the goalkeeper will routinely remain stationary or carry the ball upfield vertically very slowly to keep their intentions hidden.

Colwill, too, is quite good at it. When executing this, the centre-backs will remain staggered to provide each other with a safety net in case the bait goes sour. We can see examples of baiting the opposition’s press in the following images.

When it comes to on-the-ball proficiency, the young Brighton defender is already close to the top; his temperament, maturity, quality of execution and reading of the game are all nigh-elite. Of course, there is room for improvement when it comes to certain angles that are connected to his heavy one-footedness and occasional pass selection. However, those are minor blips in an otherwise stellar in-possession profile.

But what about his defending? We’ll explore that in the next section of this tactical analysis.

High-line defender

Being a defender in a possession-based team is always a challenge. Not only is the role of a centre-back in such a system extremely demanding but it also requires them to have complete profiles to be considered elite. Colwill’s case is similar. He is an invaluable tool in possession, as we’ve seen in the previous section of our scout report, but also represents a crucial piece of Brighton’s defensive tactics.

We’ve seen in the stats that Colwill doesn’t necessarily top every single defensive metric, but context matters here. A lot. Defensive metrics are generally very difficult to faithfully present and even more so for teams that enjoy more time on the ball. The stats, however, are clear – Colwill doesn’t engage in a lot of defensive duels, either on the ground or in the air, but when he does, he’s above average in winning them. And that’s without committing fouls often too, which makes it that much more impressive.

Physical power helps here as well. Colwill’s stature and the way he uses his frame to outmuscle, outpace and outmanoeuvre his opponents go a long way to ensuring he comes out on top in most challenges he’s faced with. But firstly, let’s consult some graphs before tackling tactics.

Here, we can see Colwill’s defensive territory and his high regains. Additionally, the territory map also shows us the average height of Brighton’s defensive line, confirming the Chelsea loanee is indeed a high-line defender. Naturally, defending his half-space is his primary objective but these graphs do a good job of showing us how aggressive Colwill gets when defending and how high he pushes up when marking.

The 19-year-old is quick tracking back and aware of his surroundings. He also faces his marker with angled shoulders (as opposed to squared) so the basics are once again well covered. All of these traits are excellent for a high-line defender as Colwill has both the physical and technical quality to defend in a possession-based side that will often aim to pin the opposition down in their half.

Of course, with long stretches of possession, there’s always the risk of transitions. This is where pace and awareness play a huge role. Colwill is quick and agile, especially for his body composition, and keeping up with fast forwards is what he does often and does well.

In these instances, he can go toe to toe with pacey attackers on pure speed alone and then has the power to outmuscle them once contact is initiated. However, reading the play is often even more important here. Knowing when to move and being aware of your opponent’s intention and position is paramount for an elite defender. Colwill generally reads the game well and will scan often to keep track of his surroundings.

This is also where interceptions come into play. One of the regular aspects of Colwill’s defending is stepping out in front of the attacker to intercept the ball. Since it’s inherently a risky approach, it requires good decision-making and timing. It would be a stretch to say the 19-year-old is always successful in these attempts, but the fact remains it’s a prominent tool in his defensive repertoire. For better or worse.

All the actions in the following images show Colwill rushing in front of the attacker to intercept the ball, often traveling in the air, and stopping the offence. Again, timing and decision-making, both of which are traits that take time to master.

This, however, ties in nicely with Colwill’s aggressive nature. While the young defender often makes the right decision when to step out and intercept the ball, he can get manipulated and dragged around by better teams. Arsenal, for example, have done this brilliantly in their clash against Brighton where Colwill was often pulled all the way into the opposition half, freeing the Gunners’ lethal forwards in the process.

Knowing when to step out and when to maintain your position is a trait not many find easy. Fortunately, Colwill has the tools to minimise the damage even when making the wrong decision but that doesn’t mean those decisions don’t come with a cost.

One final trait that needs to be mentioned here are his clearances, especially aerial ones. Colwill regularly tries to head the ball towards his teammate instead of aimlessly clearing it out of harm’s way. While this is admirable and often works, it also adds unnecessary risk when he overdoes it. Once again, this is a case of knowing when a play is possible and when it is not. Forcing these scenarios often results in losses of possession in potentially dangerous areas of the pitch.

Conclusion

At 19 years of age, Levi Colwill seems like an incredible talent just waiting to explode. For all the expensive new toys Chelsea have at their disposal, it’s the academy product that may turn out to be a huge piece of their jigsaw. Of course, now, while his reputation is still on the rise, Colwill is still a Brighton player and will remain as such for the time being.

But if his development keeps going in the same direction, a big move or a big return to the blue side of London could be on the cards.