Chelsea star on £100k a week still lives with his mum and drives four hours for training

Chelsea defender Levi Colwill lives miles away from the club’s Cobham training base and feels that escaping the ‘bubble’ is helping his performances on the pitch.

The 21-year-old earns big bucks with the Blues – a reported £100,000 a week to be exact – and takes his pay packet down to his parents, little brother and dog in Southampton. Despite being more than 70 miles away, Colwill claims he is perfectly happy to make the near-four-hour round trip to training.

“I’m around all the people I grew up with,” he explained ahead of England’s upcoming Nations League clashes with Greece and Finland. “Being connected with them again is what life is about for me. I’m really happy I’ve gone back, seeing my friends and family so much more.

“That’s probably reflected on the pitch. Being in the bubble when you’re at your club is great but when you come home it’s more of a peaceful, normal life. I’m with people who have normal jobs, who work 8-5 every day.

“To be around them shows you their side of life and makes you appreciate yours so much more. I’ve moved back into my family home and I do the travel in every day.

“Everyone thinks the drive is worse than it actually is. It’s alright. No matter how long a day I’ve had, when I get back and see my dog and my mum, dad and little brother, it just means the world to me.”

Colwill was a hyped-up academy prospect during his youth days at Chelsea, and his stock rose further with successful loan spells at Huddersfield Town and Brighton. The centre-back committed his future to the Blues by signing a lucrative long-term deal in August last year.

And he has slotted seamlessly into the first team since. Fending off interest from Premier League rivals, Chelsea have made Colwill a regular at the back, and he has played every minute in the Premier League under new manager Enzo Maresca this season.

Colwill is also making waves on the international stage. He started at left-back against the Republic of Ireland for the first game of Lee Carsley’s interim reign, before making a substitute appearance against Finland in his second.

The 21-year-old has once again been selected for the next round of fixtures and could earn his fourth cap against Greece on Thursday night.

On Carsley’s brief time in charge, Colwill said: “He has a bit of arrogance about the team and himself in terms of: ‘We’ve got the best players in the world and we all believe that’. We can take it that next step to winning a huge competition.”