One Chelsea star is working very hard behind the scenes and is now apparently one of Cobham’s best trainers after a conversation with new head coach Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea face West Ham this Saturday after 1-0 win at Bournemouth
Christopher Nkunku’s late finish nicked all three points for Chelsea in what was a tough afternoon for Maresca’s side away to Bournemouth, with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez saving a penalty and playing his part with a great display.
Summer signing Jadon Sancho grabbed a lot of the headlines with his assist for Nkunku, who managed to wriggle through a host of Bournemouth bodies to fire a low shot into the bottom corner past Mark Travers on 86 minutes.
It was a different kind of win to their recent 6-2 thumping of Wolves at Molineux three weeks ago, but it was the type of victory which required Chelsea to be resolute and handle the pressure of a positive Bournemouth backed by their boisterous home crowd.
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Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
West Ham (away) |
September 21 |
|
Brighton (home) |
September 28 |
|
Nottingham Forest (home) |
October 6 |
|
Liverpool (away) |
October 20 |
|
Newcastle (home) |
October 27 |
Chelsea were without Malo Gusto through injury, alongside Reece James, so the Blues did well minus a natural senior right-back. Romeo Lavia missed out with a hamstring injury as well, but the Belgian is poised to return against West Ham, alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Enzo Fernandez and Gusto – who have all returned to full training.
“In this kind of game you have to finish the game with your shirt dirty, because you need to fight. In the second half I think we were much better,” said Maresca after Chelsea’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth.
“We are still a work in process for sure, a learning process. Tonight, if we don’t understand that in this kind of game we need more than the tactical part, we need the desire, it will be difficult, because we want to build something important. But slowly we are going to understand all these kinds of things.
“The performance in the second half changed completely, but we need to learn these kind of things if we want to build something important and we want to win games. First of all we need the desire to win games, to win duels and to fight together.”
Sancho has been impressing in Chelsea training since his arrival from Man United, with the Englishman being a real talking point after his Nkunku assist. However, an equally crucial component of their win at Bournemouth was the promising centre-back partnership of Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill.
Colwill working hard in Chelsea training after Maresca pledge
The pair have worked well together at the heart of Maresca’s defence, and it is believed Chelsea chiefs are very happy with Colwill following his start to the new campaign.
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Levi Colwill’s statistical averages per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season compared to last term |
||
|---|---|---|
|
2024/25 |
2023/24 |
|
|
Pass completion percentage |
92.6 |
83.0 |
|
Percentage of aerial duels won |
64.3 |
68.3 |
|
Clearances |
4.00 |
3.30 |
|
Blocks |
1.50 |
1.40 |
|
Interceptions |
1.00 |
1.30 |
|
Tackles |
0.75 |
2.40 |
|
Statistics correct as of 18/09/2024 |
||
As per GiveMeSport, Colwill is Chelsea’s most consistent trainer right now, and he’s impressed Maresca with his work ethic at Cobham, as he looks to become their newest superstar academy graduate.
The 21-year-old, who Chelsea reportedly value at around £100 million, was also made a promise by Maresca in pre-season during an internal conversation. The Italian pledged to start Colwill in his favoured position on the left-hand-side of a centre-back pairing, which apparently eased the defender’s worries in regard to his role this season.
It’s added that the Englishman is highly regarded by his teammates, and possesses an aura which gives him real authority among his peers. Taking all of this into account, this could well be the season where Colwill establishes himself as an all-important nucleus of the Chelsea side.
