Chelsea weigh up move for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi amid injury crisis
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Chelsea’s search for defensive reinforcements could see them attempt to re-sign Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi. Enzo Maresca wants to strengthen his back four after losing Wesley Fofana and Benoît Badiashile to hamstring injuries and Guéhi, who came through the academy at Stamford Bridge before leaving for Palace in 2021, is emerging as a serious target this month.
The England defender was close to joining Newcastle last summer, only for talks to break down over the north-east club’s reluctance to pay a fee of around £70m. It is unclear if Chelsea, who are also considering recalling Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Palace, would be willing to go that high but they believe that a big bid would test the Selhurst Park club’s resolve. The 24-year-old has 18 months left on his deal but Palace are in a relegation battle and losing him would be a major blow for their manager, Oliver Glasner.
An obvious hope for Chelsea is that the uncertainty over Guéhi’s contract will cause his value to drop. Maresca, Chelsea’s head coach, hoped to bring in an extra centre-back at the end of the last transfer window, even though Tosin Adarabioyo and Aaron Anselmino were signed last summer.
Chelsea have options at centre-back, even with Fofana potentially out for the season and Badiashile not expected to play this month. Maresca still has Axel Disasi, Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill, who had formed a strong partnership with Fofana before the Frenchman’s latest setback. Alternatives include Josh Acheampong, 18, who made his first league start in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, and Anselmino, 19, after the Argentinian teenager’s recall from his loan at Boca Juniors.
