Mauricio Pochettino has challenged Levi Colwill to prove that he deserves regular football at Chelsea.
Huge expectations are being placed on the highly-rated defender after his impressive loan stint at Brighton last term, with the Blues having seen off interest from the Seagulls and elsewhere in a permanent deal to agree a new six-year contract in principle with their academy graduate.
Injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile will mean plenty more opportunities for Colwill at Stamford Bridge this term, though additional competition is coming in the form of Axel Disasi, the French defender set to join from Monaco in a deal worth £38.6million.
With his future no longer uncertain, Pochettino has challenged Colwill to showcase his ability at Chelsea and prove that he is ready to play a major role this season.
“We assume that he [Colwill] is going to play,” Pochettino told reporters ahead of a final pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund in Chicago on Wednesday night.
“So happy to have him in the squad and the possibility to work together. I was clear with him, we were talking and one of the things we were talking [about] was for him to have the possibility to compete with different team-mates, about deserving to play and for sure if he deserves to play he is going to play.
“Of course there is the possibility to play, because Ben [Badiashile] is injured. [His chances] are higher because he is left [footed] and you know it’s a centre-back and he will compete with Ben. But he needs to deserve [it].
“It is not that because one player is injured, there are different types of combinations that can happen. He needs to show that he is ready to play and deserves to play.”
