Huddersfield Town loanee Levi Colwill will be looking to enhance his CV in the coming weeks with promotion to the Premier League with the Terriers, moving on to this goal after seeing his side secure a play-off place.

Facing Luton Town in the semi-final, they will be favourites to secure their spot at Wembley and come within 90 minutes of a return to the Premier League following a three-year absence with their higher league finish and home tie in the second leg.

Being victorious over Reading in a penalty shootout in their last play-off final, the West Yorkshire outfit will be quietly confident they can secure their place in the top tier once again, something that would be a remarkable achievement considering they finished in 20th place last season.

 

 

A strong defence has been key to their success, with last summer's free signings Tom Lees and Matty Pearson and Chelsea loanee Colwill all playing an integral part in their success.

However, if they want to retain the latter beyond the end of the season, they may need to win promotion this season with no shortage of interest from sides in the Premier League.

And with AFC Bournemouth reportedly joining the race, we take a look at what we know about the Cherries' links to the 19-year-old and whether this deal is likely to materialise with Scott Parker's side set to ply their trade in the top tier next term.

What do we know so far?

According to a report from the Daily Mail last week, the Cherries are targeting a temporary move for the centre-back in the summer and have placed the 19-year-old on their shortlist following their promotion.

However, they aren't likely to be alone in their pursuit of him with the Terriers, Everton, Fulham, Leicester, Southampton and clubs from across Europe all thought to be monitoring his current situation.

His current loan side aren't guaranteed to be in the top flight next season though and their potential failure to win the play-offs is likely to take them out of the race considering the calibre of other sides interested in the defender.

With his parent side currently unable to buy players though, they may be reliant on the defender to step up to the first team with a permanent move unable to be negotiated at this stage either because of sanctions on owner Roman Abramovich.

But with a takeover potentially in the pipeline, those restrictions could potentially be removed quite soon, depending on how long the deal takes to complete.

Is it likely to happen?

Considering Colwill is highly rated at Stamford Bridge, it would be a surprise if he was let go permanently this summer with the teenager still having plenty of time to get better.

Having great potential, a loan move for probably be preferable for the Blues at this stage and this may be a negative of this potential deal for the likes of the Toffees, the Foxes and the Saints who are all established top-tier sides and may want to avoid developing their league rivals' assets.

Parker's side would be doing the same - but they will be wary that a return to the second tier is possible for the 2023/24 campaign and this is why they may not want to spend too much, one reason they are probably wanting a temporary deal.

This could potentially put them in pole position along with the Cottagers to land the 19-year-old along with Huddersfield if they are promoted.

Nat Phillips returning to Liverpool will also leave a void to fill in the Cherries' defence, so they may prioritise Colwill on their transfer targets list and that could be crucial in ensuring the defender arrives on the south coast.

Gary Cahill's future is also uncertain with his contract at the Vitality Stadium expiring this summer.