He’s better than Colwill: Chelsea open talks to sign “elite” £52m defender

Chelsea are set to enter into a new era at Stamford Bridge, with Xabi Alonso now unveiled as the Blues’ new manager.

After narrowly losing the FA Cup final to Manchester City, the Premier League giants wasted no time officially announcing the Spaniard as their new boss, with the former midfielder penning a contract at the club until 2030.

Given how things have panned out before him, the big question will be whether he is given ample time to stamp his authority on the downtrodden Blues ranks, who have had both Liam Rosenior and Enzo Maresca fail in quick succession, leading to both managers being dismissed in 2026.

There is optimism in the air that Alonso will go on to be a success, though, with Chelsea landing the one-time Bundesliga winner under the nose of Liverpool.

While the playing staff must improve, things also need to get better behind the scenes, primarily when it comes to recruitment. Thankfully, the rumour is that Alonso will be given more power than more Chelsea managers before him when it comes to having a say in transfers.

Who could Alonso’s first signing at Chelsea be?

Alonso has already endeared himself to his new set of supporters, noting that the Blues are “one of the biggest clubs in the world” during his first press conference.

It has further been noted that Chelsea will be looking to snap up three to four summer signings to reshape the team to Alonso’s fancy, which includes a new centre-back potentially entering the building.

Brighton and Hove Albion centre-back Jan Paul Van Hecke has been rumoured to be on the Chelsea shopping list in this regard. He is not the only central defender on their radar, with new reports emerging from Portugal also claiming that the Blues are set to battle it out with several other clubs this summer to pick up Sporting titan Ousmane Diomande.

Indeed, alongside Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea have entered talks with Sporting to understand what it might take to complete a deal.

Costing around the £52m mark, Chelsea’s defensive ranks would undoubtedly be strengthened by the Ivorian arriving on English shores, with the Sporting number 26 an arguable upgrade on Levi Colwill, who has stood out across recent matches, after a long-term stay in the treatment room.

How Diomande could be an upgrade on Colwill

It should go without saying, even if Diomande can be argued as an upgrade on Colwill, that the 23-year-old will still have a role in Alonso’s new-look squad next season.

Indeed, Colwill, despite his constant injury problems, which have seen him only feature two times in the Premier League this season, has effortlessly fit straight back into the first team over the past couple of matches, as seen in him only giving up possession eight times during a classy FA Cup final display.

Noted as putting in an “outstanding” performance against Pep Guardiola’s eventual winners by Alan Shearer, Colwill has also been named among England’s 55-man provisional squad for the looming World Cup, despite his injury-plagued campaign. Safe to say, he’s held in very high esteem at Stamford Bridge.

Yet, over-relying on Colwill to continue putting in assured displays at the back, and expecting him to remain out of the treatment room, would be an almighty risk, with Diomande’s signature being secured, potentially seeing Chelsea upgrade on the former Brighton battler.

When analysing their head-to-head league numbers from last season, Diomande has his counterpart beaten in several different areas of their respective games, with the Sporting mainstay averaging a near faultless 94% pass accuracy per Liga Portugal clash, next to Colwill’s slightly lesser 93%.

Averaging more ball recoveries as a tenacious presence at the back, too, with 4.4 ball recoveries, next to Colwill’s 3.5, it would do Chelsea’s defensive options the world of good to be able to fall back on Diomande, with only 24 goals given up all season long in the Liga Portugal this campaign.

This ability to be so dogged and determined at the back has resulted in the 22-year-old being heralded as an “elite talent” by scout Jacek Kulig.

Very rarely out of the team through injury either, this feels as if it would be a wise £52m investment, as the Blues hunt down fresh centre-back recruits.

When looking back at Alonso’s Bundesliga-winning team, when he was in charge at the BayArena, he had figures such as Jonathan Tah and Edmond Tapsoba he could depend on in moments of uncertainty at the back.

Diomande might well be the figure he revolves his defence around in West London, if a move were to get off the ground, with Colwill also ready to play a key role, if he can put all his injury demons behind him.