An injury to Chelsea centre-back Wesley Fofana has significantly decreased the chances of Liverpool signing Levi Colwill this summer.
It’s no secret that Jurgen Klopp is keen to add another defender to his squad and the Reds have been considering a move for the 20-year-old.
The manager was left unconvinced by the inconsistent performances of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip last season. It now seems, however, that Klopp will have to look elsewhere for a new centre-back.
Recent reports described Colwill as ‘untouchable’ as Mauricio Pochettino wants to utilise him in the Chelsea first team in the coming season.
This is despite claims that Liverpool ‘would love’ to sign the defender this summer.
The youngster spent last season on loan with Brighton. He made 22 mostly solid appearances for the Seagulls.
Roberto de Zerbi attempted to sign Colwill permanently, too, but Brighton saw a £30m bid knocked back swiftly by Chelsea.
Now, they are even less likely to sell Colwill this summer.
That is because Chelsea today confirmed that Fofana has suffered a serious injury. They say that the former Leicester man has ‘undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery.’
An official club statement added that Fofana ‘did not travel to America for the club’s pre-season tour due to specialist medical assessments, which unfortunately confirmed that an operation would be required.’
It isn’t clear how long Colwill will be unavailable for. The statement adds that Fofana will ‘ begin his recovery and work with the club’s medical department at Cobham during his rehabilitation phase.’
Players with similar injuries have taken an entire season to recover, though.
This leaves Pochettino with Colwill, Thiago Silva, Trevor Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile as his main centre-back options.
Badiashile is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, however, and hasn’t travelled to America for pre-season either.
As a result, Colwill looks set to play a key role in the early stages of the season for Chelsea, and Liverpool will have to look elsewhere for a new centre-back.
Other defenders that have been linked with a switch to Anfield include Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven. He is close to agreeing a move to Tottenham, but reports suggest the London club ‘fear’ that Liverpool could enter the race for his signature.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if the Reds make a concrete move for Van de Ven, or indeed any other centre-back in the next couple of weeks.
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