Brighton have made Liverpool target Levi Colwill their top priority for the summer transfer window.
Colwill had a good season on loan at Brighton last season and the Seagulls were so impressed they made a £30m offer for him. Chelsea flatly refused as they have no intention of letting the 20-year-old go.
However, according to The Athletic, Brighton are still determined to bring in their man. They claim Roberto De Zerbi has made Colwill his “first destination” for the rest of the summer. Given the difficulty of signing the England U21 star, Brighton have a back-up plan ready for action.
The south coast outfit would have Fiorentina’s Igor Julio and Ajax’s Calvin Bassey on a shortlist of alternatives.
Liverpool are constantly linked to a move by Colwill, although they are not mentioned here in any way.
Brighton are still pushing for Colwill
Interestingly, Brighton are yet to give up the quest to bring Colwill back to Amex next season. From the outside looking in, it looks incredibly difficult to pull off. But the Seagulls obviously had encouragement somewhere. There’s no way a club as smart as Brighton are so keen on chasing a lost cause.
The same could be said of Liverpool. The Reds are said to be convinced they also want Colwill. If there had been no chance, they would have been long gone. So it stands to reason that if Brighton are still in the running then so are Liverpool.
Zerbi et al may think they have a slight edge as Colwill clearly enjoyed himself at their club last season. He seemed happy to be working with the Italian coach, who labeled him a ‘fantastic’ player [The Argus]. Considering that they are also negotiating with Chelsea for the sale of Moises Caicedo, according to her the two operations could be connected.
This could be to their advantage. However, Liverpool is still Liverpool. The Reds have a lot more money than their Europa League rivals and the prospect of playing for the club of his childhood idol – Steven Gerrard – will certainly be important for Colwill.
Still, we’d be surprised if either club wins this race. Chelsea have been very clear about their stance on their academy graduate. Now that Wesley Fofana is injured again, we don’t understand why they should let him go.
