Maresca could axe Colwill & unleash Chelsea's 19-year-old homegrown Huijsen

Levi Colwill has been a regular fixture for Chelsea this season. The 22-year-old, who is a full England international, has featured 32 times in the Premier League and, more recently, twice in the UEFA Conference League, and will now be looking to guide the west Londoners to a trophy and a top-five finish.

That said, the Cobham graduate hasn’t been without his critics, having notably been “bullied” in the defeat to former club Brighton, in the words of Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, while regularly drawing the ire of supporters.

In the league alone, the youngster has made three errors leading to a shot, one error leading to a goal and given away one penalty, as per Sofascore. He also ranks in just the bottom 46% for tackles, the bottom 13% for clearances and the bottom 31% for blocks per 90 among his centre-back peers in the top-flight, as per FBref, further exposing his defensive woes.

With that in mind, Chelsea have actually been linked with a new defensive signing this summer, perhaps to potentially dislodge Colwill – even amid Enzo Maresca’s faith in him.

Chelsea’s pursuit of Dean Huijsen

It seems like Chelsea, along with several other big clubs in the Premier League, are going to try and sign Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen. The Spaniard has been incredibly impressive this season, and given he has a £50m release clause, a move seems inevitable.

Well, Chelsea will be one of the sides vying for his signature, according to TEAMTalk, with the Blues the team ‘who have offered Huijsen the more tempting financial package’, in order to convince him to switch the South coast for West London.

However, Liverpool are also in the race, and several other European heavyweights, including Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, have also been linked at various times during the race for Huijsen’s signature.

As for why Chelsea want to sign Huijsen, well, he has been excellent at the back for Bournemouth this term, and was described as a “gem” by Sky Sports commentator Bill Leslie earlier in the season.

He has featured 29 times in the top flight this term, scoring three goals in that time and recording seven clean sheets so far. The young Spain international has certainly made a big impression, hence every major club in Europe has been linked with him.

If Chelsea can’t get this deal over the line, then they might not have to worry too much. The Blues actually have a perfect in-house alternative to Huijsen.

Chelsea’s in-house Huijsen alternative

If Huijsen has impressed for the Cherries this season, then Josh Acheampong has certainly made waves for Chelsea, despite the fact he has had far less of an opportunity in the first team at Stamford Bridge.

Described as a player with “elite potential” by football analyst Ben Mattinson, the 19-year-old has featured 11 times across all competitions for the Blues this term. Six of those games have come in the Conference League, where he has played 495 minutes so far.

The underlying numbers via Sofascore from Acheampong’s performances in the Conference League this term show just how well he has played. For example, he makes an average of 2.5 tackles and interceptions and wins an average of 0.9 aerial duels per game.

The other thing that really stands out about the youngster is his ability on the ball. The 19-year-old, who can play as a right centre-back or a right-back, is clearly tidy in possession, as his 95.6% pass accuracy in the above table shows.

Not only that, but the London-born defender reads the game superbly, and can use his physicality to his advantage in defensive situations. Just look at this piece of defending in the Conference League, where he is able to use his strength to shepherd the ball to safety.

There is no doubting Acheampong’s ability. He has all the tools to become a genuine superstar, capable of playing in multiple positions across the back four, which is ideal for Maresca as he plans his defensive options for next season.

He is a player Chelsea will surely look to integrate into the first team in 2025/26. At the very least, if they do miss out on Huijsen, they are in safe hands, even more so, perhaps, than with Colwill at the back.

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