Chelsea are gearing up for a major push to bring Marc Guehi back to Stamford Bridge this summer, with the highly-rated England defender at the top of their transfer wishlist.
Crystal Palace stood firm in January, rejecting interest from Chelsea and a late bid from Tottenham, while Newcastle failed in multiple attempts to sign Guehi last summer.
Palace have valued their star centre-back at around £70 million, and with defensive reinforcements a priority for Chelsea, they are expected to make a serious move for the England international in the summer, reports the Mirror.
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One challenge Chelsea have faced in recent years is their wage structure. They are offering longer contracts with lower base salaries, but this has sometimes made it difficult to compete for top players. However, Guehi is seen as a crucial target, and the club would be reluctant to let a rival snap him up.
Having sold him to Palace for £18 million in 2021, the West London club included a matching clause in the deal, giving them the right to equal any offer from another club. A 20% sell-on clause was also inserted, though that could become complicated if Chelsea were to buy him back themselves.
Enzo Maresca on Marc Guehi ahead of summer links
Speaking about Guehi in January before his side decided to recall Trevoh Chalobah from his loan at Palace, Maresca said: “The only thing I can say is Marc Guehi is a Palace player. I like Marc for sure but he is not our player.
“But I like also the central defenders we have.I also like different types of central defenders in Italy, Spain and France but that doesn’t mean we are going to buy a player.
“It is a normal situation I think when you have central defenders injured that the speculation is there. At the same time, there is nothing there.”
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