Premier League heavyweights Chelsea are reportedly weighing up the prospect of re-signing 21-year-old English international Marc Guehi.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Chelsea could attempt to bring Marc Guehi back to Stamford Bridge just a year after selling him to Crystal Palace. The Blues are eyeing the 21-year-old English international as a suitable replacement for Antonio Rudiger.
Chelsea will enter the summer transfer window with the need to start rebuilding the squad and club in the post-Roman Abramovich era. With the sanctions placed on the Russian oligarch crippling their spending power in the market, the Blues have been unable to secure the futures of a couple of pivotal defenders.
Antonio Rudiger will likely join Real Madrid in a Bosman move in the summer transfer window, with Andreas Christensen also set to leave Chelsea as a free agent. The Danish international could become Rudiger’s rival, with recent reports claiming he has reached a verbal agreement to move to Barcelona.
Chelsea will thus need to enter the market for at least one centre-back in the summer transfer window, especially if Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr grow in stature next season. As a result, several central defenders have emerged on Chelsea’s radar over a possible move ahead of the 2022/23 season. One such option is Marc Guehi.
Guehi is a Chelsea academy product, spending most of his formative years in the west London club’s famed academy. But the 21-year-old never got the chance to establish a foothold in the first-team setup at Stamford Bridge. And after excelling on loan at Swansea City, the Englishman joined Crystal Palace last summer.
The youngster took no time to establish himself as a pivotal figure for the Eagles and has turned out 38 times thus far this season while chipping in with four goals. Guehi has also shown the potential to be a leader, with Patrick Vieira handing him the captain’s armband on some occasions.
Guehi could now return to Chelsea only one year after leaving Stamford Bridge for regular playing opportunities. With two first-choice centre-backs set to depart, Chelsea can give Guehi the chances he deserves, with the English international also an option to fill Cesar Azpilicueta’s leadership shoes in the coming years.
Guehi is not the only former Chelsea academy ace on the west Londoners’ radar, with Fikayo Tomori also emerging as an option to replace Rudiger. It will be interesting to see how the situation develops and if the 21-year-old English international returns to Chelsea in a few months.
