Chelsea need look no further for a new centre-back this summer as Mauricio Pochettino already has all he needs at the club, according to Rio Ferdinand. The Blues are expected to invest heavily in key areas over the summer but the backline is not one of them.
A new goalkeeper is near the top of the priority list whereas a centre-forward and defensive midfielder complete a three-man blueprint for new additions. Having spent lavishly on the defence in the past 12-months, the club are well stocked already.
Marc Cucurella joined as competition with Ben Chilwell at left-back and Kalidou Koulibaly signed on a four-year deal himself. Wesley Fofana was courted after for much of the summer before coming in for nearly £70million. Benoit Badiashile's impressive start to life in England makes him look a bargain at £35million, too.
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Thiago Silva only renewed his deal for an extra year two months ago whilst Malo Gusto will link up with his new teammates after finishing the season at Lyon. It leaves them well stacked without European football to contend with. Pochettino already has an answer to everything, Ferdinand believes, and he is yet to make his first team debut.
"I think Levi Colwill is the best one they have got at Chelsea," he said, speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel. "He’s better than Wesley Fofana and I think he’s better than Benoit Badiashile.
"Have you seen the way Levi Colwill is playing for Brighton? He has gone to Brighton, his team is higher than Chelsea. He is playing unbelievably well in that team."
Colwill will return from his loan as one of the most promising defenders in the league after impressing for Brighton when offered a chance. The 20-year-old struggled to get into Roberto De Zerbi's team but has shone when given the opportunity. His season started with a win over the Gunners in the cup and has ended with high, high praise from his manager.
"I would like to work with him for another two, three, four years," he said before the game. "It’s difficult to find a another centre-back, left centre-back, with his quality.
"He’s a good guy, I think he’s improving a lot. This year his improvement has been fantastic. I hope he can stay with us." Chelsea will face competition to keep their Cobham star this summer with elite level teams across the continent registering their interest in the youngster.
The Blues plan to have him in their squad for Pochettino heading into pre-season, though, and it could be their answer to William Saliba.
The Arsenal defender was one of the stars of the season before his injury and has himself been compared to Rio Ferdinand after early viewings. The Frenchman has also been labelled as a new version of Virgil van Dijk by Jamie Carragher. Chelsea themselves are in a similar situation to their London rivals after Saliba garnered attention for his performances in Ligue 1 before being granted a chance at the Emirates Stadium.
Ferdinand has no doubt in backing Colwill to make a similar step. "Did you see the way Levi Colwill was slapping that ball around [against Arsenal]? This season, he has been better than Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, 100%."
Luckily for Pochettino he will be able to rely on all three Under-21s stars and could end up saving Chelsea £89million for Croatia international Josko Gvardiol, who is of a similar build and profile to Saliba and Colwill.
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