Chelsea have held “contacts” with Crystal Palace regarding a deal to sign Marc Guehi this summer, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Is Marc Guehi leaving Crystal Palace?
Upon arriving at Selhurst Park back in 2021, the centre-back put pen to paper on a five-year contract meaning that his deal isn’t set to expire until 2026, but having impressed during his 37 out of 38 Premier League starts last season, he’s been attracting interest.
So far, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United are the four clubs to have been primarily linked with a swoop for the 23-year-old, who according to Football Insider, is believed to have had a £60m price tag placed on his head, with his club set to stand firm over the valuation of their prized asset.
The England international, however, is no stranger to Stamford Bridge having graduated from the club’s academy during the early stages of his career, and if the following update is to be believed, Todd Boehly and Mauricio Pochettino have reached out to discover what it would take to bring him back to SW6 in the weeks ahead.
Are Chelsea signing Marc Guehi?
In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Romano revealed that Chelsea did indeed make an enquiry for Guehi just over a fortnight ago, though at this stage, it doesn’t look as if a deal is expected to come to fruition. He said:
“Marc Guehi – There’s a lot of interest in the Crystal Palace defender, but it’s still too early to say where he will go. Palace players are always linked with moves away but it’s important to underline that Palace have to be respected and they want important money or they keep their stars. Chelsea had some contacts on the player side 15 days ago, but again, no concrete negotiations or anything advanced.”
Chelsea have already sanctioned the sales of Kalidou Koulibaly and Ethan Ampadu this summer so they are likely to be actively searching the market for a young new centre-back, and having been dubbed a “beast” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Guehi could be the perfect candidate.
The Abidjan native averaged 3.6 clearances, 1.5 aerial wins and 1.4 tackles per top-flight game last season, via WhoScored, so is a real rock both on and off the ground at the heart of the backline, but that’s not the only place that he can pose a threat.
Since joining Palace, the 5 foot 11 star has scored five goals and provided one assist over 82 appearances, so he also has the ability to positively impact the game in the final third, both from set pieces and during open play.
Finally, Guehi shares the same agent, Unique Sports Group, as both Reece James and Ian Maatsen, so this existing connection that his representative already has to the Blues could potentially give them a small advantage in their pursuit of their former defender should they attempt to get a deal over the line in the closing weeks of the transfer window.
