Chelsea are learning from their mistakes. Just one day after agreeing to sell an academy graduate for the biggest transfer fee received for someone coming through Cobham, it has emerged that similar efforts are being taken to tie down Levi Colwill.
The 20-year-old has already been subject to two massive offers from Brighton, who were impressed by his performances under Roberto De Zerbi last season. At £40million, the offers from the Seagulls would be more than Chelsea received for both Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham.
At the current moment these are the largest incoming prices for Cobham's biggest exits but Mason Mount is set to bring in £55million for his move to Manchester United with the prospect of that still rising further to £60million with add-ons reached.
It is a testament to the quality of players being produced but also to the mistakes made along the way. During the same summer as selling Mount, an outcome that appeared impossible even 12 months ago, Chelsea signed Kalidou Koulibaly for £35million on a four-year deal.
An offer from the Saudi Pro League has dug them out of a hole with that one but having sold Tomori for £25million in 2021 and Marc Guehi to Crystal Palace before a first-team appearance for the club, it raises questions over which players are kept and why.
Abraham commanded a higher fee when he joined Roma but no player is yet to match the 15 league goals he scored in 2019/20 despite over £300million worth of attackers being signed. Four years on and Mount's tally of 11 last season is the closest they have come to matching Abraham.
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Now, with Colwill seen as one of the best players to come through the academy, his loan spell at Huddersfield as a teenager was comparable to that of Reece James at Wigan, the same mistake is one to steadfastly avoid. Having already sold Guehi and Tomori only to land back on Thiago Silva as a continued option, losing Colwill is off the cards.
The club are keen to make him a key part of the furniture for Mauricio Pochettino's first season. With two years still to go on his initial contract plus an extra club option to extend that for another season, there is no immediate rush.
However, with Brighton one of many interested clubs in Colwill, there is still a determination to prove their loyalty to him before pre-season. According to the Evening Standard, he has been offered a new long-term deal with the club but won't commit to anything until after meeting with Pochettino upon his return from the Under-21 European Championships with England.
Unlike with Mount, who entered the final two years of his deal without too much progress being made towards improved and agreed terms, Colwill is being discussed already. It took until after last summer before Mount became a pressing issue and then time was of the essence.
For a player that has seen his price rise dramatically from around £4million as a 19-year-old at Huddersfield in 2022, according to Transfermarkt, he now has a value of £25.7million but the choice to rebuff early attempts to sign him from across Europe demonstrates the stance of the club heading into a key summer.
Losing Mount in these circumstances is seen as the biggest mistake of the ownership so far. Taking steps to avoid the same happening with a player seen as even more promising than the 24-year-old is perhaps evidence of how seriously this situation is being taken.
It's a lesson learnt for Chelsea, but until Colwill has extended his stay, it's too early to be totally confident in what is to come.
