Chelsea may have their perfect £26m Levi Colwill replacement – if Aston Villa don’t get there first
Chelsea and Aston Villa are among the teams linked with a young defender who’s already impressing at the highest level.
Since Levi Colwill’s pre-season ACL injury ruled him out for most of the season, Chelsea’s other centre-backs have effectively started a months-long audition process to hold a starting place down for the long term – but new reports suggest that Chelsea may have a back-up plan in place should they fail to prove their worth.
Right now, Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah seem to be winning the while Josh Acheampong and the perennially-injured Wesley Fofana snap at their heels. But what happens if none of them really convince come January?
According to a fresh story from TBR Football which has been echoed by several other outlets, Chelsea’s scouts spent the international break watching Club Brugge defender Joel Ordóñez – but they weren’t alone, and if they do make a move for the Ecuadorian in January, then Aston Villa could provide some competition.
Why Chelsea & Aston Villa are tracking Joel Ordóñez
The 21-year-old Ordóñez broke into Club Brugge’s first team during the 2023/24 season and has remained a fixture ever since, as well as becoming a starter for Ecuador – and Chelsea and Aston Villa’s scouts were both said to be watching him help his country to keep consecutive clean sheets against Paraguay and Argentina.
Those scouts are likely to be impressed by what they saw. Ordóñez repeatedly demonstrated his positional nous, his aerial prowess and his precise direct passing on a number of occasions as he put in a pair of almost flawless performances, keeping the world champions quiet and ensuring that Ecuador booked their tickets to the 2026 World Cup in the process.
In short, Ordóñez is a defender with few discernible flaws bar his lack of experience – not that he doesn’t now have precisely 100 senior appearances to his name. He could stand to start winning more one-on-ones and can be somewhat vulnerable to high-level ball carriers, but he has the positional quality to ensure that he is seldom isolated by an attacker in the first instance.
There are certainly similarities with Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi both in terms of his excellent use of his physical attributes and in his capacity to ensure that he is in the right place at the right time to deal with threats before they become a real problem. Neither Ordóñez nor Guéhi make especially large numbers of tackles, but both shut attacks down regardless.
The quality of his passing is a standout trait that sets him apart from most defenders who play in a similar way, however. He’s capable of getting the ball downfield quickly and accurately to spark counter-attacks and teams looking to play with a direct style would make plenty of use of his range of skills. His occasional outings in the Champions League with Brugge – including keeping a clean sheet against Aston Villa – suggest that he's ready for the highest level right now.
Which is why Marseille decided to take a €30m (£26m) chance on him this summer, only to watch the deal collapse when they failed to meet Ordóñez’s contract demands. As such, the defender remains at Brugge, but teams like Chelsea and Villa not only know that he is available, but know his price tag too.
Will Ordóñez move to the Premier League any time soon?
In the end, Aston Villa – who had been linked with Ordóñez in 2024 as well – didn’t make a bid, but that may be related to their difficult position with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. The club did their summer business on a budget, and Ordóñez may have been too expensive for a team who already have Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres on the books.
Newcastle United were also mentioned last year, although their signing of Malick Thiaw suggests that they chose to go in a different direction, while one report suggests that Tottenham Hotspur could be an interested party as well.
Rumours of Chelsea’s interest seem to be new. They had appeared to be in the market for a centre-back even before Colwill’s injury, but a deal never materialised, much to Enzo Maresca’s apparent frustration. The pressure to find a new centre-back could become quite intense if their current crop haven’t solidified their places come January.
Villa, then, are unlikely to try their luck before next summer, while Chelsea could enter the bidding sooner if they feel the need when the winter window opens. They’ll have competition from outside England as well, however, with Inter Milan also reportedly keeping tabs on the young defender.
Ordóñez, for his part, seems to be ready to move but judging by his decision to reject Marseille’s overtures, he is prepared to be patient to find the right club – or at least the right salary. But he will almost certainly be moving sooner rather than later, and for a price which is affordable to most Premier League teams.
The question, right now, is which clubs act on their interest and when. If there is movement in the January market, then Chelsea would likely be closer to the front of the queue than Aston Villa because of their financial situation – but there could be plenty of other teams in the bidding.