Chelsea can replace Colwill with “elite” 19-year-old who’s like David Luiz

One of the major criticisms at Chelsea over the past several years has been the perceived over-focus on youth.

While the Blues have invested heavily, spending over £1billion on transfers since Clearlake arrived, there’s no doubting the need for a streamlined focus.

That said, while Chelsea do need established superstars to lead the line and between the sticks, a youthful crop, replete with talent, can be cherry-picked by head coach Enzo Maresca as he looks to bring it all together over the coming months and years.

There’s an up-and-coming talent in particular who will be eyeing first-team involvement sooner rather than later, but before we take a look at him, let’s visit Levi Colwill, whose campaign hasn’t quite gone to plan.

Levi Colwill’s season in numbers

Colwill, 22, has been a central part of Chelsea’s senior set-up since the beginning of last season, having previously completed a promising loan spell with Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022/23.

Brighton wanted his services for good, with Liverpool also willing to table a bid before being rebuffed by Todd Boehly’s £100m demands. Though he’s got a lot about him, Colwill’s error-streaked campaign has cast a layer of doubt over his skillset.

Such concerns came to a head in a woeful effort at the AMEX last month.

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville surprised the world in agreeing Colwill’s defending on the South Coast was damning, while Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley chipped in to brand him “inexcusable” in seeking a foul when there was defending to be done. The Seagulls then scored.

Though Maresca’s fashioned him into a more structured central defender, Colwill has been less accurate in the duel while also making a catalogue of mistakes to detract from his progress.

With Wesley Fofana now returned from injury, Colwill’s struggles have indeed heightened. The England international knows he is a top-class talent with a high-quality passing game – ostensibly perfect for Maresca’s tactical style – but his defending leaves something to be desired.

While Chelsea may have overloaded their Cobham halls with rising prospects, there are inevitably a few who look destined for the very top, with Colwill no doubt looking over his shoulder at a defender offering certain shades of one David Luiz.

Chelsea’s new defensive star

The hybrid defender can be a priceless thing in football. For those capable of moving into holding midfield positions, tactical innovators such as Maresca can adopt fluid styles depending on the situation. In other words, it promotes interchangeability.

Luiz embodied this, playing 248 times for Chelsea across two spells, lifting the Premier League, Champions League and the Europa League and FA Cup twice.

Though he’s principally a centre-back, the Brazilian, now 37, was often situated as the third man in a three-back defence that saw English football conquered under Antonio Conte. Moreover, he’s played 36 matches across his career as a recognised midfielder, emphasising his athleticism and ball-playing ability.

Well, Chelsea may just have their next version in another South American: the up-and-coming Aaron Anselmino.

Signed from Boca Juniors last summer for about £15m (see him above celebrating a goal with Edinson Cavani) Anselmino has penned a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge and arrives having been labelled an “elite talent” by one football analyst on X (Twitter).

The 19-year-old was permitted to remain in his homeland after Chelsea completed his signing to further his development ahead of the big leap toward Europe. However, he was recalled in January and has since been getting to grips with life in west London.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Described as a “complete and dominant” defender by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the teenager carries that gritty combativeness that Luiz once showcased so well, actually praised for his “thoroughness” and “aggression” by former manager Laurent Blanc while at Paris Saint-Germain, when he knocked the Blues out of the Champions League before returning the following year.

Regarding Anselmino, the signs are promising. The Athletic’s Simon Johnson confirmed Chelsea opted to keep their rising talent at the club rather than loan him back out during the winter transfer window, with plenty of sides across the continent and in England keen on doing a deal.

Moreover, Johnson revealed the Argentina youth international has graduated to regular first-team training, but why is this?

Well, according to Sofascore’s data, the dynamic defender played 12 times in the Liga Profesional de Futbal – Argentina’s top flight – in 2024, impressing through his crispness, smoothness, and natural-born creative sense.

Not only did Anselmino complete 86% of his passes, create four big chances and register three assists, but he also averaged 2.2 tackles and three clearances while winning 4.4 duels per game, only picking up one yellow card.

It’s promising stuff, but the most compelling part of all has to be the centre-half’s success in avoiding a single error across his matches. Contrast that with Colwill, who has made four in the Premier League this term, and you can see why he might find a pathway to prominence under Maresca’s wing.

The two-footer’s technical skill and dynamism, irregularly playing in midfield across his maiden years as a professional, has seen him skyrocket toward the forefront of the game. He’s not quite there yet, but all the pointers lead toward a successful future at Chelsea.

Should he leap over this final hurdle of youth, Anselmino may well replace Colwill as Maresca’s starting option alongside Fofana. It’s pleasing to see that Chelsea have such strength in depth, but it’s bad news for Colwill all the same.

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