“I want to be like that” – Chelsea’s rising star on his “baller” idol | OneFootball

Levi Colwill has always been a player with great promise. If you didn’t spot it when he was in the academy, you might have spotted it on loan at Huddersfield. If you didn’t spot it on loan at Huddersfield, you might have seen it on loan at Brighton, where he really started to shine.

He’s also recently been cited as one of our most improved players this season, building on regular appearances last season disrupted by injury to become an ever present under Enzo Maresca. Bit by bit, his huge talent is being fulfilled.

But what about him, who does he look up to? He gave a great example when speaking to TNT Sport recently, and told a funny story about coming up against one of his idols.

You can see Colwill speaking in the clip embedded here:

Levi Colwill challenges Virgil van Dijk for a header in the Carabao Cup final 2024. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Colwill on taking on “baller” van Dijk

“Probably last year where we played Liverpool in the first game of the season and I played against Virgil [van Dijk] for the first time,” Colwill explained to Kenny Allstar.

“I remember marking him in the box and he said something to me, and I think I might have told him ‘shut up’ accidentally, and he looked at me like ‘who is this little boy?” I was looking at him thinking ‘I want to be like that, or better, when I’m older’, he’s a baller.”

Colwill certainly has a lot he can learn from Virgil, both in terms of actual football skills and the intangible qualities of leadership and “aura” that the Dutchman is famous for.

But let’s not forget – Colwill is 21. Van Dijk was still playing for Groningen at that age. So in many ways, Levi is ahead of the curve.