Roberto De Zerbi has admitted that he would like to work with Levi Colwill for a few more years, sending Chelsea a mixed message ahead of the upcoming transfer window. On one hand, the Brighton boss could be suggesting that he wants to sign the defender permanently but, on the other, he could also be lining himself up to replace Frank Lampard in the summer. Ahead of Brighton’s clash against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon,
Roberto De Zerbi said: “I would like to work with him for another two, three, four years. It’s difficult to find a another centre-back, left centre-back, with his quality. He’s a good guy, I think he’s improving a lot. This year his improvement has been fantastic. I hope he can stay with us.”
In Mikel Arteta’s pre-match press conference, he praised Brighton’s clever transfer strategy.
Mikel Arteta said: “They have a really clear vision, they’ve been ahead of many other clubs in the way they have handled and made decisions. The way they have developed players, recruited talent, the way they have set up the club, the people that they recruit as well is really impressive. I think they have done extremely well. The level of every organisation is much better than it was been before. The level of the players, the staff and the coaches – everything has improved. Physically it’s much more demanding, and every detail and every phase of play is dominated in the right way by every opponent. That makes the game fascinating because there are a lot of things that can go your way or not go your way in the small margins, and that is the Premier League right now for every team.”
