Chelsea drop Levi Colwill transfer bombshell as director hints at summer plans

Chelsea sporting director Paul Winstanley appeared to confirm that the club had serious transfer interest in this summer after speaking publicly for just the second time since his appointment. In a joint interview with Lawrence Stewart, the pair opened up on their time at the club so far.

As one of the key points of contention for many with how Chelsea have been run under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership, Winstanley and Stewart's role as co-sporting directors has been under the microscope. Not helped by mass turnover throughout the squad and behind the scenes during a period of downturn on the pitch, the duo are held largely accountable for what goes on.

With the trust of Boehly-Clearlake - who appointed Winstanley and Stewart at different stages of the 2022/23 season - Chelsea's entire sporting structure has changed from what was inherited. One thing that has remained is the sale of academy players.

Chelsea generated hundreds of millions in the latter years of Roman Abramovich's tenure as they made use of Cobham's talent. Including the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham, it effectively funded large portions of their other transfer activity.

Boehly-Clearlake have been no different. Mason Mount, Lewis Hall, and Callum Hudson-Odoi all left in 2023 as part of a major team transformation, Trevoh Chalobah and Armando Broja were sent out on loan, but had been readily available for permanent moves before that.

Winstanley rejects the notion that Cobham graduates are being used to boost the club's financial spot, though. "We had a significant offer for one of our academy products this summer that we absolutely chose not to take," he told . "There's a lot of misconception out there.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

"We've had two debuts this year. There's three or four more players in behind who we think we can push through this year as well that we're keen to do.

"The manager's on board with that, he's aware of the players coming through. We give them opportunities - when we can to make sure they've got that pathway.

"It's not just about PSR, it's contractual statuses, it's circumstances. The two players you've referenced, there were contractual problems that we walked into. It's really important for us to bring through players."

After Gallagher went to Atletico Madrid - - the outwardly desirable first-team-ready academy-developed players are now limited. Maatsen had already left to join Aston Villa, with Hall's Newcastle move confirmed, as well.

It leaves just Colwill and Reece James as regulars. Winstanley's acceptance that Chelsea fielded an offer, though, narrows it even further. football.london .

For a player with over 100 senior appearances before their 22nd birthday - and a left-footed centre-back at that - then He captained his boyhood side last season, previously, and is now a mainstay under Enzo Maresca as well.

Integrated into the team by Mauricio Pochettino following his impressive loan at Brighton, Colwill has been on the radar of multiple sides across the continent. Not only were Brighton themselves credited with making two bids worth over £30million in 2023, Liverpool are also said to have been sniffing around.

. Chelsea tied Colwill down to a lengthy new contract just over 12 months ago though, with the prospect of keeping him until 2030 at least.

Despite the interest in Colwill - and others at Cobham - Stewart maintains that the goal of the academy is to provide top-level players for Chelsea, rather than monetary gain. "No [they aren't viewed as financial objects], we're seeing a player that's going to play in the first team and play for Chelsea.

"The reality is that if it was that, there are other players and more players who we could have sold as well. Like Paul said, there's been interest in other players that we've turned down. Every decision has been a performance-based decision, which people have opinions on because that's football. And, absolutely, with homegrown players it's always more emotional.

"There's nothing fans like more than players who are one of our own and they can sing those songs about those players and we certainly appreciate that. That's why we continue to invest in the academy and try to make sure the first team and the academy are aligned, so the players have the best opportunity to make that step."

. That will in turn only make him a player likely to be sought after the biggest and best teams around, though.