£10m Beast Could Be Van Dijk 2.0 At Anfield

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill this summer and the Englishman could be the next Virgil van Dijk in Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Could Liverpool sign Colwill?

It was reported by Football Insider last month that the Reds were plotting to sign the 20-year-old after another fine season away from Chelsea, this time helping Brighton earn a spot in Europe for the first time in their history.

The talented young centre-back had first caught the eye on loan with Huddersfield Town in the Championship last season, helping the Terriers to the playoff final before their defeat against Nottingham Forest, making 31 appearances in the second tier.

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City are also credited with an interest in the Englishman, who could be the next top talent to leave Stamford Bridge without ever really getting a chance in the first team.

90min reported last year that Chelsea valued Colwill at £40m which suggests that nearly a year on, the Blues could demand a significant fee for the exciting defender this summer.

Does Colwill play like Van Dijk?

While the report suggests that Liverpool have been scouting Colwill throughout the season, Klopp got a first-hand experience of his quality earlier in the season when Brighton cruised to a 3-0 win over the Reds at the Amex Stadium.

Alan Shearer suggested that the youngster “didn’t put a foot wrong” during Match of the Day’s coverage, while his 7.5 Sofascore rating from the game suggests that he was easily able to deal with Liverpool’s front two of Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.

The former managed no shots on target and no successful dribbles when up against the Brighton loanee, in a display that was arguably reminiscent of Van Dijk’s dominance over Premier League attackers in recent seasons at Liverpool.

Coincidentally, according to FBref, the Dutchman is the third-most similar player to Colwill when compared to other centre-backs across Europe’s top leagues.

This season has seen the two register remarkably similar statistics with regard to 15-30 yard passes completed per 90 (both 39.2), aerial duels won (74.1% vs 74.2%) and tackles per 90 (both 0.6).

Colwill is clearly a defender who is comfortable in possession and is rarely bested by attacking players, as he has been dribbled past just 0.3 times per game in the Premier League so far this campaign.

If the 20-year-old can be brought to Anfield this summer, he could learn from Van Dijk and potentially emulate the Dutchman in the future, as he looks to have a huge amount of potential and is already very similar to a man recognised among the best centre-backs in the world.