Maurico Pochettino has revealed he has spoken to both Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke about their roles at Chelsea amid suggestions the former could still leave the club.
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The duo are both in Georgia with England’s young lions for the European Under-21 Championship and are expected to start in Saturday’s final against Spain.
There have been significant question marks over whether Colwill would still be a Chelsea player when he returns, with Brighton – the club where he spent last season on loan – seeing two bids rejected.
Liverpool and Tottenham are among other Premier League clubs rumoured to be interested in the 20-year-old, though the Blues have always been adamant he is not for sale.
Pochettino certainly seems to be planning on having both Colwill and Madueke in his squad next season and has already held talks with the pair – though he has divided loyalties over Saturday’s final having lived in Spain since joining Espanyol in 2004.
Asked if he has been able to speak to both players yet, Pochettino replied: ‘Yes, we spoke yesterday [Thursday] with Levi and Noni.
‘One I know – Noni – from Tottenham, he was in the Under-18s. And of course Levi I know but I introduced myself with him.
‘I wish all the best for tomorrow [in Euro U21 final]. It’s true that for me it’s difficult because it’s Spain vs England, but I wish them all the best.
‘I think we are waiting for them to be with the team. I think the day that we will fly to America, they will join us.’
Colwill and Madueke will only be granted a few days off after their Under-21 exploits, with the squad set to fly to the United States next weekend to begin their pre-season tour – which kicks off with a match against Wrexham on July 19.
While Chelsea’s main focus now remains trimming a bloated squad, Pochettino is keen to strengthen and wants to bring in a new defensive midfielder to partner Enzo Fernandez with Brighton’s Moises Caicedo thought to be the preferred choice.
Asked about potential new signings, he replied: ‘We need to be right and clever on how we set the scene in the next few weeks, in our decisions and setting the right team.
‘I am so happy, so far so good. We need to keep this feeling for the rest of the season. What I need to do is to coach not only the players, but to guide them to try to achieve what we expect and what fans expect.’
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