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Chelsea could repeat Mohamed Salah error if Liverpool can seal transfer who loves Steven Gerrard
Over the course of the past year, Liverpool has targeted a player who grew up watching and idolizing a certain Steven Gerrard. In Jude Bellingham, Jürgen Klopp wanted to acquire a special wonderkid who looked up to the Reds legend during his childhood years.
It seems Bellingham isn’t going to arrive at Anfield in the near future — with Real Madrid instead leading the race for his services — but Liverpool is now interested in another player who worshipped Gerrard as a youngster.
The Evening Standard reported in April that both Liverpool and Manchester City were keen on Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, while Goal has since added that while that is the case, Chelsea is reluctant to let the player leave.
It remains to be seen whether Levi Colwill will end up on Merseyside in the coming months but regardless, he’s a massive fan of ex-Reds midfielder Gerrard, which could be handy in any transfer race.
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“Growing up it was always Steven Gerrard, a leader,” he told Goal in 2021 when asked about his footballing heroes, in a clip that resurfaced on social media this week. “I was just amazed by him, I used to have pictures of him in my room and I always used to try and copy him before training or before I was playing.
“I always thought I was him, dressing up as him, had the same boots that sort of thing. I just looked up to him. I wasn’t really ever a central midfielder, but I always tried to have the same mentality as him so I went from there.”
Indeed, Colwill plays in defense rather than in midfield, but his profile as a center-back perhaps offers an insight into why Klopp seems to be chasing his signature. The 20-year-old defender has a whole host of valuable perks attached to his game, which explains why Brighton and Hove Albion are also interested in him (The Guardian reports this week it saw an initial bid of $37m/£30m/€35m) turned down).
The Gerrard disciple is a homegrown talent for a start, which could be important for the Reds considering James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are leaving the club this summer, and Caoimhín Kelleher could follow them if Liverpool receives a reasonable bid from an interested party.
Colwill is also left-footed, which could be one of the primary reasons behind Klopp’s attraction. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konaté and Joël Matip are all right-footed, meaning the Reds boss doesn’t currently have a left-footed option at the back, excluding full-backs Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas.
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Pep Guardiola has Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Aké at Manchester City. Mikel Arteta has Gabriel Magalhães and Jakub Kiwior at Arsenal, and — after signing him last summer — Erik ten Hag has Lisandro Martínez at Manchester United. It is a common theme among the top clubs in England, with Newcastle United even moving to purchase Sven Botman from Lille around 12 months ago.
“It’s so important to have a left-footed central defender,” said Guardiola when he bought Laporte from Athletic Bilbao in 2018. “He helps us to make our build-up and when the ball comes from the right, he immediately controls to the left and plays it to Leroy Sané. That is quicker than we would play with a right-footer in that position.”
Liverpool doesn’t have any lefties in the middle of the defense, and Colwill would tackle that huge void, but his contract with Chelsea could prove to be a problem. The Blues need to sell players in order to balance the books this summer, but sending players to Anfield is surely an unappealing prospect.
Chelsea has made that mistake in the past, allowing Daniel Sturridge to join the Reds before later selling Mohamed Salah to AS Roma, only for the Egyptian international to end up breaking historic records for Liverpool further down the line. The Stamford Bridge club has been stung by sending players to Merseyside over the last decade, which is why Brighton is perhaps a more realistic destination for the young starlet.
That $37m Seagulls bid was instantly rejected. It would be understandable if new head coach Mauricio Pochettino wanted to keep him at the Bridge, but Chelsea’s need to sell players is growing. The reality is that Chelsea will need to let a good few players leave to balance the books, and some that it wants to keep will need to go. If Brighton fails to land him in the coming weeks, Liverpool could swoop in and force the Blues to make another Salah error in the market.
