Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea may scupper Brighton's bid for £30m 'good guy'

The 18-year-old Chelsea loanee has impressed at Brighton this term during a season long loan and head coach Roberto De Zerbi would like to keep him for another "four years."

Colwill, who has a guide price of around £30m, will however return to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season. Chelsea have had a chaotic campaign as a huge transfer spend and a bloated squad has failed to deliver results on the pitch.

The expected appointment of Mauricio Pochettino could offer more clarity in the coming weeks but quite where Colwill will feature in Pochettino's plans remains unknown.

What is clear however is that the former Southampton and Tottenham manager does have a track record of developing young talent and Colwill could be a player he sees as a key part of the future at Chelsea.

The Blues have an abundance of options in defensive areas with Wesley Fofana, Benoît Badiashile, Kalidou Koulibaly, Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva all vying for spots, with Malang Sarr, Ethan Ampadu and Colwill on loan.

Left sided centre backs are though hard to find and Albion boss De Zerbi said, "I would like to work with him for another two three, four years. It's difficult to find another centre back with his quality. He is a good guy, his improvement has been fantastic and I hope he can stay with us."