Chelsea, after having a very busy summer transfer window adding multiple attackers, seemed to be one of the major contenders to stay at the top of the league. However on the contrary they find themselves in the seventh position.
There has been many reasons behind Chelsea’s current hardships including the plethora of injuries that the Blues are witnessing, which has posed a challenge to Enzo Maresca who is having a hard time reshuffling his tactics due to unavailability of players on multiple occasions.
After Levi Colwill was sidelined with an ACL injury, not many options were left for Maresca to tackle these unforeseen injuries, as Tosin Adarabioyo’s return is still nowhere near and Wesley Fofana is not yet back to his pre-injury form.
As a result, signing a centre-back might be the only option left for the Blues in the winter transfer window. A number of names were linked with a possible move to Stamford Bridge for the role but none of them materialised. Marc Guehi was among them and a return to Chelsea was on the cards.
Maresca is reportedly a big admirer of the player. He recently shared his verdict following Chelsea’s failure to sign him. Express have reported that Maresca has 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.
I also like the centre-halves we have, and I like different central defenders in Italy, Spain, and France, but that doesn’t mean we are going to buy the player.
It is a normal situation when you have these central defender injuries that there’s speculation there. There’s nothing there.”
Guehi’s Plans Shift as Contract Nears Its Expiry With Chelsea Being Linked
The 25-year-old has been on Chelsea’s radar since last summer, but no terms have been forwarded, though the Englishman now has an eager interest from Real Madrid as his contract is going to expire next summer.
Guehi has emerged as an exceptional talent recently, and a return to his boyhood club would have been a dream for Chelsea fans. Aside from the Blues, several other English clubs are also eyeing an opportunity to sign the defender especially Liverpool.
Nevertheless, signing a centre-back could be a top priority for Chelsea in the January window. Landing Guehi would be the cherry on top for the club. For one, the Englishman is currently one of the best defenders in the Premier League. Moreover, Chelsea could potentially secure him for a bargain price due to his contract situation. That said, it remains to be seen where the player eventually ends up.
Ankan Bhowmick