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Levi Colwill reflects on Brighton future & uncertain Chelsea return.
Levi Colwill, a central defender for Chelsea, has emphasized his fondness for Brighton, his loan team, in front of what might be a significant summer for the 20-year-old.
Colwill has had an outstanding season while playing on loan for Brighton. He has established himself as one of the top young defenders in Europe and has drawn interest from clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City.
Although Colwill is not a part of Brighton’s contract with Chelsea, the Seagulls were known to be interested in keeping the defender even before manager Roberto De Zerbi launched a public outreach campaign earlier this month.
However, according to reports, Colwill has known for some time that Chelsea wants him back in the lineup for the upcoming season. This understanding has been bolstered by the recent injury sustained by teammate centre-back Benoit Badiashile.
When asked what his plans for the future are, Colwill remained focused on his love of Brighton while acknowledging that his decision to go forward would have to take into account his close relationship with the Seagulls.
“Brighton have done a lot for me,” he told The Athletic. “They put their trust in me when others didn’t and I’m a person that loves to repay that. We’ll see.
“I don’t know what is going to happen [at Chelsea]. I’m still here until the end of the season. I just focus on that, then I’ve got the Euros [the Under-21 European Championship] in the summer.
“After that, we’ll see what happens and go from there.”
He continued: “[The Brighton loan] has been amazing – every part, on the pitch, off the pitch. I’ve learnt so many things. I’ve grown, not just only as a player, but as a man too, and I think it’s due to the manager and the players. I’ve just loved every minute of it.
“I’m not someone to predict the future. I take it day by day, but it’s been an amazing journey.”
Brighton are known to be interested in keeping Colwill and would even accept another loan deal for the defender, and although Chelsea are not interested in such an offer at this point, Colwill himself refused to rule it out.
“Who knows, we’ll see what happens in the summer,” he added. “I love the Brighton fans, I love everything about them [the club]. I’ll take that into consideration.”