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Levi Colwill has made his feelings clear about playing full-back for Chelsea and England. Gareth Southgate handed the 20-year-old defender his senior international debut on Friday night as the Three Lions secured a 1-0 win over Australia at Wembley.
With Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw currently nursing injuries, Colwill slotted in at left-back – and it's fair to say that he certainly impressed. After the game, the England boss issued a glowing assessment of the Blues youngster.
"Levi [Colwill] is a young defender, we know he is not a left back as his first choice," said Southgate. "But he is filling that spot for his club and we wanted players where they play for their clubs, so it is as smooth as they could be."
In an interview with beIN Sports, Colwill revealed just how pleased he was to get a win and a clean sheet on his Three Lions debut. The Chelsea defender said: "It was amazing. The best way to have a debut and hopefully we can build off the performance against Italy as a team and individuals and go from there."
Then, when asked for his thoughts on playing at left-back, Colwill insisted that he's 'all for it' if it means that he can continue chalking up appearances. He added: "Obviously, it is a different role. But I have been playing there for my club and I am enjoying it and if it gives me a chance to start and to play, I’m all for it."
With Ben Chilwell still nursing a hamstring issue which he picked up against Brighton the Carabao Cup last month, Colwill is expected to continue at left-back after the international break when Chelsea welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge on October 21. Once the former Leicester City man returns from the sidelines, Pochettino is looking forward to seeing the duo compete for a place in his starting lineup.
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"Always in football, it is about performance and players need to feel that they deserve to play," said the 51-year-old following the Blues' win over Burnley. "If we want to be consistent and fight for big things it's about being consistent every single game and that will be good with competition between them.
"We have a very talented squad but at the moment, for different reasons and circumstances, we cannot use all of the potential of the squad. Some bad luck against us in some situations but with time to be in the position we want to be.
"With the players fit, it will be massive competition and it will be good for the team to keep the level that we need to fight for big things."
