There’s a general rise in defenders being singled out for their unique running styles. Antonio Rudiger comes to mind and Joel Matip, who’s even got a dedicated social media page monitoring his movements and running styles on the field.
The latest to defender to catch attention because of his running style is Chelsea starlet Levi Colwill.
He has caught the center of the attention of fans following Anthony Elanga’s goal that led to a Nottingham Forest victory at Stamford Bridge in almost two decades.
Elanga was about a yard and a half behind Colwill when he went on his run before scoring the opener.
Chelsea fans would have probably been hoping Colwill would run to the ball and maybe pass it to Sanchez to avoid any danger.
Instead, it felt like Colwill was stuck in some FIFA game glitch running extremely slowly despite all that pressing of the run button on a joystick as Elanga easily beat him on the ball.
Fans wondered if Colwill’s feet at the time were stuck to the ground.
Chelsea have spent over a billion pounds in the summer still looking incredibly shaky defensively. Pochettino would have had his faith pinned on the capabilities of Colwill.
Unfortunately, the defender has been caught out in the manner for the second time this season.
Colwill is often dubbed as the cherry at the top amongst young defenders looking to break through for their clubs.
Liverpool and Brighton were all after his signature in the summer gone by.
His passing abilities when on the ball has all the attributes of experience far above his age.
Effective passing prowess is an ever-crucial element demanded from every modern-day defender playing at the top level.
The evolvement of styles in the sport with managers like Guardiola and De Zebi at the helm continues to make Colwill attractive as a prospect.
Yet his reading of the game when not in possession – something extremely essential particularly for defenders lacking in pace – will be an area Pochettino will be looking to work on with him.
A confident Van Dijk comes to mind. The Liverpool defender might not be the paciest defender but his reading of the in-game situations when facing directly against an onrushing striker made him so impeccable.
It is not all doom and gloom though for the young English centre-back.
At twenty years of age, he is already finding himself in the squad for his national side albeit with Southgate not providing him any minutes in the recent international break.
There is an instant pressure that comes along when playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Thus given the hype surrounding Colwill his suspected lack of pace will be a talking point is only natural.
This is part of the job, and Colwill probably is very aware of it.
