Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino made a firm declaration about the future of Levi Colwill in the wake of the Blues beating Brighton 4-3 in a pre-season game in Philadelphia.
Having never played a senior game for Chelsea, Colwill spent last season on loan at Brighton and became a regular starter in the second half of the campaign as the Seagulls secured a sixth place Premier League finish to qualify for the Europa League group stage.
Brighton had been keen on a permanent transfer and at one stage were weighing up the possibility of launching a club record £40m bid for the 20-year-old defender.
90min reported at the start of July that Chelsea were adamant Colwill is not for sale. Liverpool also held interest and made an enquiry, only to be knocked back. Chelsea have since also lost Wesley Fofana to long-term injury and have even asked Manchester United about Harry Maguire.
Brighton are prepared to admit defeat in their Colwill pursuit in favour of going after former Rangers defender Calvin Bassey, 23, who joined Ajax last summer. The bigger threat to Chelsea appears to be Liverpool, who 90min understands are confident despite the 'not for sale' stance at Stamford Bridge.
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Pochettino was bullish about Colwill's situation after the youngster played against Brighton.
"We don't need to make a statement about anything. He's our player and he's going to continue with us," the Argentine said. "I am happy with him, his performance was good today, better than what I expected because it's only the first game with us after the season in Brighton.
"I think he can be one of the greatest centre-backs in England. He is going to be part of our team."
Pochettino is particularly noted for his track record of developing emerging talent, having played a major role in the early careers of players like Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Eric Dier.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mauricio Pochettino makes defiant statement over Levi Colwill future.
