Does it make sense for Chelsea to sign Marc Guehi? | OneFootball

After the news that Wesley Fofana’s hamstring injury could keep him out for the rest of the season, Chelsea will be looking at replacements, but should Marc Guehi be among those considered?

The Englishman used to be at Chelsea in his youth days, playing for their Under 18s through to the first team. He only made two first team appearances for the club, and was sold to Crystal Palace for £18 million in 2021.

His sale was sanctioned before Clearlake Capital took over the west London side, so there is no feeling of embarrassment for the board to go back in for one of the club’s old players.

Guehi has gone on to become one of the most reliable centre-backs in the Premier League in the last three seasons. He played 36 league games in 2021/22, 37 in 2022/23 and has started 19 of Palace’s 20 league games so far this campaign.

Last season he only managed 23 league starts because of a knee problem that kept him out for three months. That injury was the only significant one of his senior career, which will be a huge plus for Chelsea, as both Fofana and Benoît Badiashile have suffered consistently with injuries, and the club will be looking for more durable players.

The Palace defender still has 18 months left on his contract, and given his importance to Palace and still only being 24-years-old, he would command a large transfer fee. This could be in the region of £75 million.

Guehi is a very front-footed centre-back, with many of his best attributes being when Palace are on the offensive. He completes 4.3 progressive passes per game and produces 1.2 shot creating actions per game, both stats being amongst the best for a defender in the Premier League.

Levi Colwill is also an aggressive and forward thinking centre-back, which could create issues for Chelsea. Guehi’s passing statistics are fairly poor, he has a pass completion rate of 83.7%, which puts him in the bottom 28% of defenders in the league for that statistic.

Given the other options in the market, the other options in Chelsea’s squad, namely Josh Acheampong, and Guehi’s transfer fee, it would not make sense for Chelsea to move for him.

They should look to avoid splashing out a huge fee for a defender in January, give Acheampong and Disasi the rest of the season, then reassess in the summer.