Liverpool were given encouragement that they could have pulled off an unlikely signing during the summer transfer window.
The off-season was a busy period for the Reds, as they brought in four new players. All four seemed delighted to join the Reds and be part of Jurgen Klopp’s ‘Liverpool 2.0.’
And as journalist Graeme Bailey has exclusively told Rousing The Kop, Liverpool had also turned the head of another player, one they ultimately did not sign – Chelsea’s Levi Colwill.
“He was keen to leave because he wasn’t sure about his future, Levi Colwill,” Bailey says. “Liverpool was an option for him, he was very keen on that – Brighton as well.” With links to the 20-year-old resurfacing this week, Bailey also says that the interest is certainly still there from Klopp and the Reds.
“I think Liverpool are just doing their due diligence,” the journalist reports. “He’s one of the left-sided central defenders they do like. The [Chelsea] hierarchy are seemingly obsessed with selling homegrown players.
“From our understanding Liverpool were asking the question, ‘if you want to sell a home grown asset and you want it to be Levi Colwill, we’ll be interested’. They’re just keeping them informed that if they did come to part company with Levi Colwill then they would still be interested.”
Colwill keen on Liverpool move
It remains to be seen whether Colwill’s stance has at all changed since the summer. Having become a fixture in the Chelsea team, fans could have been forgiving for thinking that this one was dead and buried.
But on the contrary, it now feels like a link that simply won’t go away.
Ahead of the season, there was reportedly a feeling from Liverpool that Colwill did in fact want to join them. The England international is said to have been a fan of the club growing up and was ready to move.
Despite all of that though, the transfer always felt more than a touch unlikely. And continuing in his assessment, Bailey says that if one thing could deter Liverpool, it’s probably the price of prising Colwill from Chelsea.
“The problem isn’t that they don’t want to sell, it’s what I liked to call ‘Premier League tax’,” the journalist explains. “It’s so expensive to buy a player from within England, it’s very rare. I don’t think it’s rare because they won’t do business with each other because they will, we’ve seen that, especially Chelsea, but the Premier League tax is just phenomenal.
“That’s probably the main reason it won’t happen now but let’s see what Chelsea do in the summer. They’re such a hard team to read.
“If they go out and sign [Goncalo] Inacio and [Ousmane] Diomande Chelsea, Colwill isn’t someone who wants to sit on the bench. If he’s not getting his game time then that could be the door left open for Liverpool, if the player pushes to leave himself.”
As Bailey says, you just don’t know what Chelsea are planning. Colwill is one of the most highly rated young centre-backs in the world, hence why Liverpool want him so much. But you could easily see them binning him off for a couple of shiny new signings.
If they do, it sounds like Liverpool will be there. And Levi himself shouldn’t need much convincing. Let’s see if this eventually goes anywhere.
