Tottenham enter race for Chelsea defender Levi Colwill

Tottenham Hotspur have joined the transfer race for highly-rated Chelsea defender Levi Colwill.

Levi Colwill, 20, is one of the best emerging young centre-backs in England. He played a crucial role in England’s Under-21 European winning campaign earlier this month. He started five out of six games as the young Three Lions conceded zero goals throughout the competition.

This has seen the youngster’s stock skyrocket over last season where he enjoyed an impressive breakout Premier League campaign on loan at Brighton. Colwill was a mainstay in the Brighton defence under Roberto de Zerbi, helping the club clinch a sixth-place finish in the Premier League and subsequently a Europa League berth.

As a result, Brighton want to sign the young Englishman permanently from Chelsea, while Liverpool and Manchester City are also keen on securing his signature. Chelsea have offered Colwill a new contract to ward off interest from Premier League clubs but he is seeking assurances over his game time from new manager Mauricio Pochettino before committing his long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

And then there is Tottenham, who reportedly are tracking Colwill amid concerns they could lose out on the signing of Wolfsburg defender Mickey van de Ven.

Tottenham have made Mickey van de Ven their top defensive target

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has made Wolfsburg’s Mickey van de Ven his No.1 defensive target of the transfer window.

Van de Ven, 22, joined Wolfsburg from Dutch side Volendam in 2021 and has gone from strength to strength, racking up 41 appearances for the Bundesliga club so far, scoring once. There has been plenty of attention on the young defender following his performances at the Under-21 European Championships, where he represented the Netherlands.

Tottenham have already held talks with Van de Ven, who enjoyed a solid 2022/23 campaign with Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. However, the north London outfit fear that Premier League rivals Liverpool might hijack the move for the young Dutchman.

Is Levi Colwill the real deal for Spurs?

To that end, Spurs have Levi Colwill on their radar. They have joined a long list of admirers of the Chelsea youngster, who won the Under-21 European Championships with England.

Chelsea are adamant that Colwill is not for sale and have offered him a new contract. The Pensioners have rejected several offers from Brighton—the last being a club-record £40m figure—with Pochettino keen to include him in the upcoming pre-season tour. However, the England youth international wants guarantees over his regular game time next season, with the likes of Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah ahead of him in the defensive pecking order.

Keeping that in mind, Colwill is open to departing Chelsea—either on loan or permanently—this summer. In that regard, the opportunity to join Tottenham could prove to be difficult to turn down for Colwill if Postecoglou shows faith in him and assures regular minutes next term. Chelsea selling one of their future stars to Spurs looks highly unlikely but if the Lilywhites can somehow manage to thrash out a deal, Colwill has the potential to become an invaluable asset for Postecoglou’s side and one of the first names on the team sheet.