We continue reviewing how each member of the Chelsea squad fared in the season just gone by looking in detail at our central defenders.
Our goalkeepers and full-backs have already been in the spotlight, and now it is the turn of those in the heart of defence, which we order here by total appearances in 2024/25. The criteria for eligibility in this assessment is that players finished the season in our FIFA Club World Cup squad and played at least one competitive game.
Levi Colwill
Total appearances: 43 (40 starts)
Minutes played: 4,152
Goals: 2
Assists: 2
It was a season of excellent development for Levi Colwill. He started all but three of our league games and five of our seven fixtures at the Club World Cup, including the final when he kept Ousmane Dembele very quiet.
With composure in possession a key element of his game, Colwill fitted in well to Enzo Maresca’s system passing out from the back. He popped up with the vital goal away to Nottingham Forest on the final day that guaranteed UEFA Champions League football for next term, and he was brought off the bench shortly before Enzo Fernandez’s equaliser in the UEFA Conference League final in Wroclaw.
Colwill only turned 22 in February but, with 75 Chelsea appearances to his name already, he will be hoping to maintain the high standards he has set next term.
Tosin Adarabioyo
Total appearances: 41 (33 starts)
Minutes played: 3,337
Goals: 5
Assists: 1
Tosin’s first season at Stamford Bridge was a resounding success. He appeared in five different competitions, popped up with five goals, and rarely put a foot wrong when called upon by Enzo Maresca.
Five of his last six Premier League starts of the season ended in clean sheets, and he was imperious at the City Ground on matchday 38. A block as good as a goal earned us a point on our final trip to Goodison Park before Christmas.
Tosin started 12 Conference League games as we triumphed in that competition for the first time, and he was also heavily involved in the USA as we lifted the Club World Cup.
Trevoh Chalobah
Total appearances: 24 (19 starts)
Minutes played: 1,916
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
Trevoh Chalobah’s loan at Crystal Palace was cut short in January so he could add depth and Premier League knowhow to Maresca’s squad following injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile. He settled back into the groove quickly and was Player of the Match in his first game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Academy graduate showed his versatility by occasionally stepping in at right-back, and he finished the season by starting the Club World Cup quarter-final, semi-final and final as he lifted more silverware in blue.
Benoit Badiashile
Total appearances: 22 (20 starts)
Minutes played: 1,889
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Benoit Badiashile was an integral member of our victorious Conference League side, with 13 of his 22 appearances during the season coming in that competition.
A hamstring injury disrupted his winter, but the Frenchman did start both away games in north London and finished the campaign appearing twice in the Club World Cup.
Wesley Fofana
Total appearances: 14 (14 starts)
Minutes played: 1,309
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Wesley Fofana started the 2024/25 season brightly, playing 12 of our first 13 league games as we rose to third in the Premier League table.
Unfortunately, a hamstring injury sustained in the home victory over Aston Villa kept him out for three months. Fofana played two games at right-back upon his return in March, but another setback was followed by surgery on his hamstring which ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign.
Mamadou Sarr
Total appearances: 1
Minutes played: 15
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Mamadou Sarr’s transfer from Strasbourg was completed ahead of the Club World Cup and he came off the bench in the 3-0 win over Esperance de Tunis, remaining an unused substitute in the other games as he acclimatised to his new team.
Aaron Anselmino
Total appearances: 1
Minutes played: 3
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Aaron Anselmino returned from a loan spell at Boca Juniors in January and was on the bench for three games in the second half of the season. The young Argentinian made his Chelsea debut when he came on towards the end of extra time in the Club World Cup round of 16 victory over Benfica.