Levi Colwill hit a number of personal milestones during his first season as a fully-fledged member of Chelsea’s senior squad. The defender reflects on a breakthrough campaign and looks ahead to our upcoming summer tour of the USA.

So well has Levi Colwill settled into life in the men’s team at Chelsea it seems strange to think that, although he spent many years in our Academy, it was only this time last year that he was preparing to embark on his debut campaign with our senior squad after returning from a successful loan at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Fast forward to today and Colwill has made 32 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, scored his first Premier League goal in a 3-2 win over the Seagulls at Stamford Bridge and is now an established member of the side.

That only starts to tell the story of an incredible 2023/24 for the 21-year-old, though, who admits it is hard to believe how much was squeezed into the last 12 months.

‘I think it's been a crazy year,’ said Colwill. ‘Winning the European Under-21 Championship last summer was amazing, it was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. Just being there with the boys was so good.

‘To go from that to then coming back, making my Chelsea debut, signing a contract for Chelsea, all of the things that I've dreamed of from when I was a little kid across the road [at Cobham].

‘Then to make my England senior debut, I still don't really believe it. I still don't feel like it actually came true.

‘I've had ups and downs. I struggled as I played in a different position for half the season [at left-back]. That was really tough, but I learned so much from it.’

Of course, it all started last summer, when he joined up with the senior squad for our pre-season tour of the USA.

With the Blues heading back to America to kick off our preparations for 2024/25, Colwill recalls an important few weeks for his career and is particularly looking forward to heading to Notre Dame to face Celtic, with the defender signing his a new long-term contract last summer in neighbouring Chicago.

Colwill said: ‘The tour last year definitely helped me settle in and get comfortable around the lads, and that helped me play my best football. So it definitely helped me and hopefully this pre-season is just as good.

‘I think the games we've got lined up are really exciting games and they're going to prepare us perfectly for the season coming up.

‘I’m looking forward to playing Celtic, it will be a good game. I think their fans will definitely be up for it, so we're definitely going to need ours to match them and be even better. But I think it'll be a great game out there.’

You can be part of that crowd cheering on Colwill and his fellow Blues against the Scottish champions at that game in Notre Dame, with tickets still available for that and the rest of our matches in the USA this summer.

Chelsea’s USA Tour 2024