Chelsea were dealt a seismic blow defensively in the last few days, with news that Levi Colwill will now miss the majority of 2025/2026.
He was meant to be one of the pillars of Chelsea’s defence next season, but the 22-year-old has now ruptured his ACL, ruling him out for the majority - possibly the entirety - of the new campaign.
Colwill sustained the problem at the end of his first training session back at Cobham earlier this week, and after he underwent successful surgery, the centre-back's recovery timeline is expected to stretch to around six to nine months.
The injury is a brutal blow. Colwill was a mainstay last season, starting 35 Premier League matches and playing a key part in Chelsea’s Champions League qualification push - not to mention Club World Cup glory.
With him now sidelined for the foreseeable future, boss Enzo Maresca has declared that his defence is a top-priority position to strengthen during these final few weeks of the window - confirming that Chelsea will dip into the market amid their ongoing talks for Alejandro Garnacho and Xavi Simons.
“It is a priority for me,” Maresca told Channel 5, via Standard Sport. “Levi is a fantastic player. What we achieved last season is because of him. He played a lot of games with me, I love him. We are going to miss him.
Chelsea Colwill
“We are trying also to find different solutions.”
Jorrel Hato, signed from Ajax for around £36 million, steps into the spotlight. Despite being just 19, Maresca insists the Dutchman’s senior experience - over 100 Ajax games - makes him “mature enough” to slot into the backline immediately.
However, Chelsea are reliably believed to view the teenager as more of a left-back to cover for Marc Cucurella (Ben Jacobs), and even before Colwill's injury, the west Londoners were looking at signing another centre-half (Simon Phillips).
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Their need for another option has now intensified, with Benoit Badiashile also out till September.
Chelsea open talks with Ajax defender Aaron Bouwman
According to TEAMtalk, Chelsea could turn to another Ajax teenager - Aaron Bouwman - after Hato.
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The 17-year-old is yet to make a senior appearance for the Eredivisie giants but is amassing quite the reputation as one of Europe's rising stars defensively, impressing in the pre-season Como Cup, and Bouwman is a standout in Ajax's prestigious youth set up right now.
It is unclear whether Chelsea plan to integrate him into the first team, but they're serious about potentially capturing him.
TT state that Chelsea have opened talks with Bouwman's agents in the last few days and are in pole position to sign the Dutch starlet ahead of both Man City and Arsenal - who are also looking at him.
If Bouwman isn't exactly ready to reinforce Maresca's senior defensive options, then other reports suggest that Chelsea could U-turn over selling Renato Veiga and give the Portuguese a chance to stake his claim in the squad.