Chelsea are on the verge of signing defender Benoit Badiashile from Monaco, according to Ben Jacobs in his debut article for Si & Dan Talk Chelsea this week.
Jacobs covered a lot in his deep dive on transfer news and many other general Chelsea situations, and you can read the whole article here:
EXCL: @JacobsBen for @SiandDanTalkCFC
Debut Chelsea column!
Updates on Enzo, Rice, Felix, Caicedo, Zaha, Vlahovic, Pulisic, Kante, Jorginho, Plus loads more.https://t.co/EPv62dDwPG
— Si & Dan Talk Chelsea (@SiandDanTalkCFC) January 2, 2023
But there was one key section in there regarding Levi Colwill, and it sounds very promising from a Chelsea point of view. Many people have been questioning why Chelsea are signing Badiashile because he is a young left-footed centre back, the same profile as Colwill. However, I truly believe that both are needed at Chelsea going forward.
Jacobs explains that Chelsea still very much plan for a future with Colwill in the squad, and he says that Chelsea know they have a huge talent in Colwill.
“Levi Colwill remains part of Chelsea’s long-term plans hence why they would only allow a loan to Brighton over the summer,” Jacobs wrote. “It’s been a difficult season at Brighton and he’s only played five Premier League games. But anyone I speak to at Chelsea is always quick to underline his high potential. Chelsea know they have a superb talent.”
And as I said above, I truly believe we will need both of them going forward. Thiago Silva is nearing 40 and has a contract running out this summer. Kalidou Koulibaly is in his early 30s and doesn’t fill me with confidence. Trevoh Chalobah is decent but he’s being kept out by Koulibaly currently and wont be happy being a bench player. Wesley Fofana has already proven to be injury prone early doors, and other than that, pure centre back options are scarse at the club.
Personally I can see Colwill replacing Silva, because his profile is much more similar to that than Badiashile. I think he could easily sit in the middle of a back three if we lined up like that, or either right centre back or left centre back in a four. Both him and Badiashile could have a future in the same defence at Chelsea, for sure.
Chelsea need to manage Colwill right now and make sure they map out a pathway into our first team, because this kid is the real deal.
