Levi Colwill is ready to prove he is one of the Premier League’s best centre backs after opening up on how his ACL ordeal left him feeling ‘helpless’ last season as Chelsea laboured to a 10th-placed finish.

The 23-year-old Englishman managed to return for the final few league fixtures of 2025-26, though his club missed out on qualifying for any form of European football. The last time Colwill played in a Chelsea victory came in the Club World Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain in July 2025.

‘I'm ready to go,’ Colwill told us in Sydney, Australia, where Chelsea have started their pre-season tour under new manager Xabi Alonso. ‘Having a tiny taste at the end of last season really gave me that extra motivation to come back for pre-season with that fire in my belly.

‘I want to take my game to the next level this year. I want to be regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the league this year, 100 per cent. I feel like we can challenge. I feel like the players we've got in our team are ready to do that. Having a manager of this quality now, when it all comes together, we’re definitely going to be able to challenge and push for the Premier League.’

While the focus has fallen on Alonso’s fondness for attacking football, he will be trusting Colwill to man his back line, most likely alongside Maxence Lacroix. The French central defender, 26, is set to sign from Crystal Palace for £52million.

Discussing the devastating impact of his ACL injury, Colwill said: ‘It was the first day back of pre-season last year. You come off winning the Club World Cup feeling on top of the world, and then an injury like that happens. It kills everything. It was really tough to get my head around.

‘But I'm a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, so I just tried to take it in my stride. Seeing the boys on the pitch every day obviously hurt a lot, but I got over it, and I'm back now.

‘I feel like I'm a stronger person, mentally and physically. I had to find something to keep my head on and try to distract me when I could because it was very tough not doing what you love every single day. When you can't do anything to affect the game on the pitch, you feel helpless, and that's how I felt at times.’

Alonso has been heavily involved in training drills. Daily Mail Sport watched one session in Sydney on Sunday in which the 44-year-old Spaniard was playing passes to set up Estevao Willian and Chelsea’s other right-wing options for crosses.

‘We're really proud to play under him and, on the training pitch, when he shows the quality he still has, it shows that it never goes,’ Colwill added. ‘He's just spraying balls around for no reason and it's a perfect pass every time. Sometimes you can be a bit jealous, but he's an amazing manager to work under and he was obviously a crazy player, so to learn under him will be so good.

‘He's putting across his game plan and trying to make us play the football he wants us to play, which is really creative, attacking, free-flowing football, which I think we're doing really well.'

Chelsea face Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday with Colwill saying: ‘I really do believe the players we've got in the changing room are some of the best players in the world. When everything comes together, we can really be a strong force and push forward this season.’