Levi Lamar Samuels Colwill (born 26 February 2003) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

and the England national team.

Early and personal life

Levi Lamar Samuels Colwill was born on 26 February 2003 in

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

, Hampshire. Colwill's uncles, Barry and Byron Mason, won the 2014 FA Vase final with

Sholing Sholing, previously Scholing, is a district on the eastern side of the city of Southampton in Southern England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston. Various explanations from where the name derives ...

, with Colwill walking out at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

as a mascot. Another uncle, Daniel Mason, also plays for Sholing and works for

Club career

Early career

Next Generation Trophy 2018 -Erster Tag 16

Colwill joined

at under-nine level, having previously played for Sunday League team City Central alongside

Jamal Musiala Jamal Musiala (born 26 February 2003) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. Nicknamed " Bambi", Musiala is known for his world-class dribbling ...

. He signed his first professional contract with Chelsea in February 2020 on his 17th birthday. On 25 June 2021, Colwill joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

for the 2021–22 season. He made his debut on 1 August in a 4–2 penalty shoot-out win against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

in the

2021–22 EFL Cup The 2021–22 EFL Cup is the 62nd season of the EFL Cup (known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons). The competition is open to all clubs participating in the Premier League and the English Football League. The winner of the competition qua ...

and his league debut six days later in a 1–1 away draw with

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. On 21 August, he scored his first career goal in Huddersfield's 2–1 win at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

on 21 August. Throughout the season he suffered from ankle, knee and hip problems, as well as COVID-19. On 29 May 2022, Colwill scored an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

as Huddersfield lost 1–0 to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

at Wembley in the 2022 Championship play-off final. On 5 August 2022, Colwill joined Chelsea's fellow

club

Brighton and Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

on loan for the 2022–23 season. He made his debut two days later against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, coming on as a stoppage time substitute for

Solly March Solomon Benjamin March (born 20 July 1994) is an English professional footballer who predominantly plays as a left wing-back for club Brighton & Hove Albion. March can also operate further forward as a winger. Early life March was born in Eas ...

in Brighton's 2–1 win. Colwill made his first Premier League start in a 2–1 home defeat against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

on 13 November. He ended the season having made 13 starts in the

2022–23 Premier League The 2022–23 Premier League will be the 31st season of the Premier League, and the 124th season of top-flight English football overall. The provisional fixtures are scheduled to be released on Wednesday 15 June 2022. As of the 2022–23 season, c ...

as Brighton qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

for the first time in the club's history. On 1 June 2023, it was reported that Chelsea had rejected a £30 million bid from Brighton for Colwill. Colwill complimented Brighton manager

Roberto De Zerbi Roberto De Zerbi (; born 6 June 1979) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of club Brighton & Hove Albion. Playing career De Zerbi started his professional career at AC Milan. He spent four seaso ...

, and said his own game had room to improve.

2023–present: Return to Chelsea

On 2 August 2023, Colwill signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea, with an option for a further year. He made his official debut for Chelsea on 13 August, playing the full match as Chelsea drew at home to

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in their opening match of the 2023–24 season. On 3 December, Colwill scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 3–2 victory over Brighton in the

2023–24 Premier League The 2023–24 Premier League is the 32nd season of the Premier League and 125th season of English football overall. The fixtures were announced on 15 June 2023 at 09:00 BST. Manchester City are the three-time defending champions, and can beco ...

. Three days later, he captained Chelsea for the first time in a 2–1 away loss to Manchester United.

International career

Youth career

With England U17, Colwill won he won the Syrenka Cup in 2019. On 10 November 2021, Colwill made his debut for – and captained – the England U19s in a 4–0 victory over

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none ( Latin)"United virtue is str ...

in a

2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification The 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-19 football competition that determined the seven teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Slovakia in the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final ...

match. He scored his first goal for the U19s six days later during a 2–0 win against Sweden. On 27 August 2021, Colwill received his first call up for the England U21s. On 25 March 2022, Colwill made his England U21 debut in a 4–1 win over

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

. On 14 June 2023, Colwill was included in the England squad for the

2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-21 Euro 2023) will be the 24th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship (27th edition if the Under-23 era is also included), the biennial international youth football ...

. Starting five of his country's six games, Colwill helped England to win the tournament without conceding a single goal. Colwill lauded the team's 'family' spirit.

Senior career

In June 2023, Colwill linked up with the England senior squad for the first time as part of the travelling party to a

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament is an upcoming football competition that will be played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that will join the automatically qualified host team Germany in ...

fixture away to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. On 31 August 2023, Colwill was called up to the senior England squad for the first time, for their fixtures against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. He made his senior debut during a friendly against Australia on 13 October. After being called up again in November 2023, he withdrew from the squad due to injury.

Style of play

Colwill plays mostly at

, he can also slot in on the left as a full back or wing back, and enjoys stepping forward as a ball-playing defender. He has been compared to

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the ...

due to his shirt number, status as an academy graduate of Chelsea, and position.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

England U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Individual *UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colwill, Levi 2003 births Living people Footballers from Southampton English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Chelsea F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players England men's youth international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers England men's international footballers Black British sportsmen