Pochettino downplays swap deal talk as Chelsea boss sends transfer warning to Premier League rivals
Mauricio Pochettino during his Chelsea unveiling press conference
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has downplayed talk of a potential swap deal involving Levi Colwill as he insists the defender is part of his plans.
Colwill enjoyed a successful loan spell at Brighton last season. The 20-year-old impressed under Roberto De Zerbi and Brighton are seemingly keen on bringing him back on a permanent basis.
Chelsea themselves are in the middle of negotiating a deal for Moises Caicedo and a potential swap deal which involves Colwill has been rumoured.
“There are two questions. Not only about Caicedo, also about Colwill, and maybe it can be [a swap],” the Brighton manager told reporters.
“I would like to play with Caicedo and Colwill together but at the moment I can only speak about Caicedo as Colwill is not one of my players.”
Brighton are said to be holding out for around £100m for Caicedo which is more than what Chelsea are prepared to pay for him at this point in time.
The 21-year-old is under contract at Brighton until 2027 and so they are in a strong position to dictate his transfer value at this stage.
Brighton will also be well aware that Chelsea are in desperate need of midfield reinforcements which will only go ahead and drive up their asking price.
Pochettino downplays swap deal
While De Zerbi would seemingly be keen on a swap deal, Pochettino himself doesn’t seem fond of the idea as Colwill looks to be part of his long-term plans going forward.
“We don’t need to show nothing and make a statement about us. He is our player and he is going to be with us,” Pochettino told reporters.
“I am happy with him, his performance was good. Better than what I expect because it is one of the first games he has. I think he can be one of the greatest centre-backs in England.
“It is clear his situation, and there is nothing to say. He is our player and we are happy with him and he is going to be part of our team.”
With Wesley Fofana set to be out for the foreseeable future with an ACL injury, Colwill could be handed some more first team opportunities next season.
While Pochettino will give opportunities to some of Chelsea’s younger player, he has reaffirmed that he is at the club to win trophies.
“We need to understand also we are in Chelsea. Chelsea is to win, it’s not about developing players,” Pochettino added.
“We need to be careful because people expect to win, when you play for Chelsea it’s about winning, it’s not about playing good football only. It is about building a squad with the possibility to give the space that they deserve or the space that we believe they deserve.”
