Fofana was seen as the ideal partner to either Benoit Badiashile or Levi Colwill, who are both left-footed. Having allowed Kalidou Koulibaly and Cesar Azpilicueta to leave earlier this summer, new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has now just four fit central defenders at his disposal—Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah.
However, Silva turns 39 in September and Chalobah has been linked with a move to Inter Milan. Add this to Fofana’s unfortunate long-term injury, Chelsea have started exploring defensive options in the transfer market. And Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi has reportedly been identified as a potential option to replace Fofana at Stamford Bridge. However, he will not come cheap as the Eagles have slapped a £ 50 million price-tag on the defender.
Marc Guehi could be a solid addition to Chelsea’s defensive unit
Marc Guehi, 23, left Chelsea to join Crystal Palace for £ 18 million in the summer of 2021. In the last two seasons, he has established himself as one of the best young centre-backs in the division, breaking into Gareth Southgate’s England squad as a result.
Guehi has formed a strong partnership with Joachim Andersen at the heart of Palace’s backline, starting 37 Premier League games last season. He played a crucial role for the Eagles in keeping eight clean sheets in the league, despite them finishing in the bottom half of the standings. The four-cap England international is also attracting interest from Arsenal and Tottenham but Chelsea do have the option to match any rival bids for him.
Having not inserted a buy-back clause when selling Guehi to Palace in 2021, the Pensioners now face paying a hefty premium for his services. Palace want around £ 50 million for their star defender and Guehi could be ready to move back to Chelsea if Pochettino assures him of regular game time.
The England international is a strong, fast and technically sound defender with good game-reading sense, and he could potentially replace Thiago Silva in the long run at Stamford Bridge. A vocal leader and good organiser of the backline, Guehi has matured a lot in the last two years and should walk straight into Pochettino’s first XI if a deal can be thrashed out.
A young, homegrown defender with huge potential, Guehi would represent a fantastic long-term investment for the Blues. Thus, Chelsea must not hesitate to pay the high premium to Palace and re-sign him as quickly as possible.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
