Mauricio Pochettino has a big week ahead of him as he and his Chelsea squad jet off to America for their pre-season tour.
The Blues will play five games while over the Atlantic with their first coming next Wednesday against Wrexham. Matches against Brighton, Newcastle United, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund then follow in the few weeks after before Pochettino's first competitive game against Liverpool next month.
Pochettino has been with his squad since last week when he officially started his role as head coach. So he has now seen his squad undergo almost two full weeks of training but there are still a few players he has not had the opportunity to meet just yet.
One of them is Levi Colwill. The 20-year-old excelled for England Under-21s in their famous European Championship triumph. Colwill was part of a defence that did not concede a goal throughout the whole tournament as the Young Lions made history.
Colwill, though, still needs to commit his future to Chelsea and is set for face-to-face talks with Pochettino over what his role in the squad will be for the upcoming season. With just two years remaining on his contract, clubs, including Liverpool and Brighton, are queuing up to try and take advantage of the situation.
football.london understands Liverpool have enquired about the Cobham graduate on multiple occasions already this summer. However, Chelsea's stance has remained the same. He is not for sale.
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That has not deterred Liverpool, though, and the Reds will be keeping an eye on the next few weeks to see if there are any changes in the situation. Colwill wants assurances that he will be a key member of the Chelsea squad next season and he will be featuring in Pochettino's plans.
Gareth Southgate is said to be a huge admirer of the Chelsea defender and is reportedly planning calling him up to the senior England squad for next year's European Championships. For such a plan to come together, Colwill will need regular minutes.
football.london understands Chelsea are determined to tie the defender down to a new long-term contract with the club. His current deal is due to expire in June 2025 and the Blues plan talks with the centre-back in the coming months to discuss an extension.
Colwill was recently quizzed on his future but the Chelsea man did not give too much away. He confirmed that he will talk to those close to him in the coming weeks to decide on where he will be playing his football next season and beyond.
"I will speak to my family, speak to everyone I need to and make a decision," he said. "I've got to play at the end of the day, to hopefully get there and go to the next [senior England] camp.
"But if I'm here [with the U21s], I will still be happy. You've always got to be happy when you're picked for any England age group. It's an honour."
The next week or so could be really defining in what the future holds for Colwill at Chelsea. The club are desperate to keep hold of someone they believe can go on and become a world-class defender at Stamford Bridge. The only way he is leaving is if he pushes for it.
