Chelsea are looking for a solution to their centerback problem and they may have one in a familiar face that plays just up the road in London. Crystal Palace central defender Marc Guehi is a potential target for the Blues this summer as they could seek to reunite with him as they rebuild their defense.
According to insider Ben Jacobs, the Blues are interested in bringing Guehi back to Stamford Bridge and that the young Englishman is open to returning to the club. Speaking of the potential mutual interest, Jacobs said as quoted by Caught Offside:
"“There will be other suitors. Of course, we shouldn’t discount Newcastle, who made a series of bids last summer – and Tottenham could return, even though Kevin Danso ended up joining. But I think the feeling is that Guehi knows Chelsea, obviously very well. He’s been there before, he’s open to that move, and I’m told he would ideally like to stay in London."Ben Jacobs on Marc Guehi
As Jacobs said, there will be competition for the young English defender who is an attractive option just by virtue of his passport, but also because of his excellent play. Guehi has been at Crystal Palace since the 2021-22 season and has been one of their most consistent performers, earning an average 7.0 grade from FotMob during his time there.
Guehi spent his formative years with the Chelsea Academy and was considered one of the better prospects during the 12 years he spent there in the different youth teams. He was an instrumental part of the 2019-20 Chelsea youth team that won the Premier League 2 compeition.
The Ivorian-born defender also joined the Chelsea senior team in 2019 but only made two appearances, both of which came in the EFL Cup and never featured in the Premier League for the Blues. He spent two seasons on loan at Swansea City in the Championship before earning a full time move to Crystal Palace in 2021 for £18 million plus some potential sell-on bonuses.
We are not sure how the sell-on bonus would work if the Blues bring him back to Stamford Bridge but his price tag is reportedly in the £50 million range which is a solid price these days for a young but experienced centerback. At 24 years old Guehi has already made over 200 senior first team appearances and has 22 caps for England.
Guehi would not be the flashiest signing considering he is a former Academy product but he would be first choice at Chelsea if he were in the 2024-25 squad and that’s reason enough to consider him in the summer. However he is an excellent young player with plenty of experience but has yet to enter the prime of his career.
His current contract with Palace ends in 2026 and he is on £50k weekly wages according to Capology so that figure will have to be upped if Chelsea want to lock him down long term. The Blues have had success in bringing back former Academy products that went on to shine elsewhere and Guehi could be the longterm solution to Chelsea’s problem in central defense.