Chelsea are weighing up keeping Brighton loanee Levi Colwill at the club next season and want to renew his contract which expires in 2025.
There are growing fears, however, that Brighton could again test Chelsea’s resolve by trying to sign Colwill permanently this summer after initially trying to poach him during the £62million sale of Marc Cucurella to Stamford Bridge.
The centre-back, a graduate of the Cobham academy, joined the Seagulls on a season-long loan in August - when current Blues boss Graham Potter was still in charge at Amex Stadium.
Colwill has impressed under Potter’s successor Roberto De Zerbi, with seventh-placed Brighton enjoying a fantastic Premier League campaign to still harbour genuine hopes of European qualification with 13 games still to play this term.
However, his progress on the south coast has been disrupted by injury, with the 20-year-old having recently missed several games with a quad issue sustained in January.
Colwill returned to play 90 minutes in the top-flight win over rivals Crystal Palace and was brought on by De Zerbi as a half-time substitute in the 5-0 FA Cup quarter-final demolition of fourth-tier Grimsby Town before the international break.
He will hope to stay fit and continue to impress in the latter stages of the season before heading back to Chelsea, who spent £70million to upgrade their defensive options with the signing of Wesley Fofana from Leicester after loaning out Colwill last summer.
The Blues also signed Kalidou Koulibaly last summer following his exit from Napoli before further investing in their defence in the January transfer window with the £35m arrival of Benoit Badiashile from Monaco. Evergreen defender Thiago Silva also penned a new one-year contract extension in February.
