For Levi Colwill, the trip to Cobham and the Chelsea training ground from his hometown of Southampton was an integral part of his childhood. Taken into the club’s academy at under-nine level, he would make the journey with his close friend Jamal Musiala, who is now at Bayern Munich; one of their parents doing the driving. That was until Chelsea transferred Musiala into local digs.
They did not do so nearly as quickly with Colwill, who continued to travel up and down from Southampton, his parents never complaining, nor his younger brother, who would be in the car, too. Colwill often thinks back to those hours on the road, the sacrifices of his family, to give him motivation.
The commute became rather less arduous when Colwill moved to Cobham; as he set about establishing himself as a Chelsea first-team player – a mission that he pushed in eye-catching style under Mauricio Pochettino last season and has continued to do under Enzo Maresca.
Colwill has been a fixture at centre‑half for Maresca, a part of the team’s impressive start which has carried them to fourth in the Premier League. His form has brought him England selection; he is preparing for the Nations League ties against Greece on Thursday and Finland on Sunday. And, having seen Cobham as a destination for so long, it surely had to feel good to live in one of England’s most exclusive neighbourhoods.
Yet it probably says everything about Colwill that he has chosen to leave the Cobham bubble, where many of his teammates live and hang out, and return to live with his family in Southampton. The 21-year-old is back to doing that drive, insisting it is OK, even though it has to take him more than an hour in each direction. Colwill can only see the upside. He feels enriched to be close to family and friends, some of whom he met at City Central Youth club where he took his early steps as a player. The off-field contentment has brought on-field benefits.
“I recently moved back to Southampton so I’m around all the people I grew up with,” Colwill says. “Being connected with them again is what life is about for me. Growing up as a player at City Central with my mates was the best time of my life. I’m really happy I’ve gone back, seeing my friends and family so much more. That’s probably reflected on the pitch.
“Being in the bubble when you’re at your club is great but when you come home it’s more of a peaceful, normal life. I’m with people who have normal jobs, who work 8-5 every day. To be around them shows you their side of life and makes you appreciate yours so much more.
“I’ve moved back into my family home and I do the travel in every day. Everyone thinks the drive is worse than it actually is. It’s all right. No matter how long a day I’ve had, when I get back and see my dog and my mum, dad and little brother, it just means the world to me.”
Colwill senses opportunity with England, even if it may not come in central defence, but rather at left-back, where the interim manager, Lee Carsley, has not called up any specialists. It is because of the dearth of them. Not that Colwill sees the role he played in the 2-0 win over Republic of Ireland in September as that of a pure left‑back. With Trent Alexander-Arnold pushing into midfield from right-back, Colwill was on the left of a back three in possession.
He is asked whether people ought to stop being so obsessed with positional labels. “Yes, definitely,” he replies. “Football is changing in a way that you can play multiple positions in a game – in possession, out of possession. For me, position doesn’t matter, I’ll play anywhere to help the team and the majority of the squad think like that.”
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Colwill cannot help but smile when he discusses his Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer, who is with him with England – and in red-hot form. “He’s not the same Cole Palmer against me [in training],” Colwill says. “No, I’m only joking. Of course he is amazing.
“You give him half a yard and it’s a goal. He’s so laid-back about it and it’s so frustrating at times because he’ll put it through your legs and score, then walk off like nothing has happened. You can’t get him back, that is the worst thing about it. Give him any chance outside the box or inside, it’s a 95% chance it will be a goal. You see that in most games.”
It is no surprise to hear Colwill support Carsley’s claim to become the permanent England manager. The pair are close, Carsley having given Colwill all 11 of his England Under-21 caps. He counted on him in the summer of last year when the team won the European Under-21 Championship. More interesting is Colwill’s insight into Carsley.
“He has a bit of arrogance about the team and himself in terms of: ‘We’ve got the best players in the world and we all believe that,’” Colwill says. “We can take it that next step to winning a huge competition. Cars focuses on how we are going to play and how we are going to hurt teams, which is the most important thing in football.”