Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is a serious target for Real Madrid and Barcelona, but Xabi Alonso's side won't let him go on the cheap.
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Alonso's first summer at Stamford Bridge was always going to be complicated.
Xabi Alonso real madrid training
The Spaniard inherited a bloated, expensive squad that could still miss out on Europe and lost the FA Cup final to Man City, and the to-do list is enormous.
Marc Cucurella has been set on leaving since January, with City and a return to Spain both on the radar, according to journalist Simon Phillips, with Alonso scheduling showdown talks over the left-back's future.
Enzo Fernández, meanwhile, wants to see top-level signings before committing to a new contract, with Real Madrid and City both lurking.
Liam Delap and Marc Guiu are expected to be moved on, with the striker position in need of upgrading. The defence also needs reinforcing, and all of it needs to happen without Champions League revenue to fall back on.
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Now, as if the picture was not complicated enough, Chelsea are having to fend off interest in the one young defender they absolutely cannot afford to lose.
Chelsea set Levi Colwill price tag as Real Madrid and Barcelona lurk
According to SportsBoom, Real and Barça have both developed a concrete interest in Colwill and are preparing to table formal offers in the region of £52m-£56m in the coming weeks.
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Chelsea's response has been emphatic: the 23-year-old centre-back is valued at a minimum of £80m, and the club have no intention of selling.
He is viewed as central to the long-term rebuilding project under Alonso, and the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge will not entertain approaches unless that valuation is met.
The difficulty for Chelsea is that their lack of European football weakens their hand considerably. Champions League football is the currency that keeps elite players at elite clubs, and right now Chelsea cannot offer it.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid can — and that matters.
SportsBoom report that Colwill is taking the interest from Spain seriously, which is a significant detail even if it does not mean a move is imminent.
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It has been a frustrating season for the England international on a personal level.
A serious knee injury suffered in early August has restricted him to just 135 Premier League minutes across the entire campaign. Before the setback, Colwill had established himself as one of the most promising young centre-backs in European football, making 35 league appearances last season and earning five senior England caps.
His left-footed ball-playing ability, composure under pressure and reading of the game made him a perfect fit for Chelsea's possession-based system — and it is those same qualities that have attracted the attention of La Liga's two giants.
The gap between what Barcelona and Real Madrid are reportedly willing to offer and what Chelsea are demanding is significant, and that gulf could prove insurmountable in the short term.
Chelsea's Levi Colwill reacts
But the longer Chelsea go without Champions League football, the harder it becomes to convince players of Colwill's calibre that Stamford Bridge is where their future lies.
For Alonso, keeping Colwill is non-negotiable.
He is the kind of defender around whom you build a back line for the next decade — young, homegrown, technically gifted and only getting better. Selling him would undermine the entire message of the new manager's appointment.
However, if Real Madrid or Barcelona come back with an offer closer to £80m, and Colwill makes it clear he wants to go, even the strongest stance can be tested.
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