Mauricio Pochettino makes huge Levi Colwill selection decision for Chelsea vs Brighton pre-season clash

Levi Colwill has learned his fate over his role for Chelsea’s pre-season match against his former club Brighton & Hove Albion.

The 20-year-old spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Brighton and excelled, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side keen to bring him back to the south coast on a permanent basis. However, Chelsea insist he is not for sale and Colwill is set to be a big part of their future plans.

Following England’s success at the Under-21s European Championship, Colwill has joined up with the Chelsea squad for their pre-season tour of the USA. He played no part in the 5-0 win against Wrexham in midweek as he got up to speed with the rest of the group.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed during his pre-match press conference on Friday that players would not be rushed into the side and they would have to go through their training plans to ensure they are ready to get minutes.

“Of course, after a long period of holidays, there is a big risk to go and put these guys on the pitch,” said Pochettino. “They have great character and want to compete and to win. In their mind they are always ready to compete. Sometimes we must stop them to say ‘No, first you need to improve your condition and your fitness level’.

“Little by little we are including them in different drills, different exercises, different tactical work. It is normal, we can see the difference with players who started day one. I think it’s about being careful and patient because they want to compete and play matches but our responsibility is to decide the best strategy for everyone and we are professional.

“We are not about to say ‘you want to play, you play’ or ‘he wants to play, we can not go against the player because he is not happy’. We do not care about that. We are providing all of the squad a strategy for them to arrive in the best condition when the competition starts. Then we cannot use excuses because played before and have time to work. We cannot give excuses to the players.”

Ahead of the pre-season clash against Brighton, Pochettino has now made a big selection decision over Colwill’s role, as reported by The Secret Scout. He will start in Philadelphia at the Lincoln Financial Field.

Meanwhile, Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, who is heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, won’t be involved, De Zerbi confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“He won’t play against Chelsea tomorrow – he’s not ready yet.”