Mauricio Pochettino was impressed with Levi Colwill's performance in Chelsea's pre-season win over Brighton and believes the academy graduate can become one of the 'greatest centre-backs in England'.

It was at the start of our tour of the USA that Colwill joined up with the first-team squad; the defender was given time off to recharge after helping England win the European Under-21 Championship.

The 20-year-old has since been worked hard on the training pitches by Pochettino and his staff and was handed his first outing of pre-season against the Seagulls in the Premier League Summer Series.

'Levi has had a few days [in training] and I think he is nearly fit,' explained the Chelsea head coach after his side recorded a 4-3 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.

'Of course, why we play with him is because we need to share minutes with different players – and I think he is in a good form.'

'I am happy with him, his performance was good today, better than what I expected because it is only the first game with us after the season with Brighton. I am so happy, he can be one of the greatest centre-backs in England.'