Chelsea need to repeat £156m transfers with Liverpool hijack to silence Neville, concern Arsenal | OneFootball

Chelsea are said to be “miles away” from winning the Premier League title, but this would not be the case if they hijack Liverpool’s move for Marc Guehi…

This season has been a rollercoaster for Chelsea.

Head coach Enzo Maresca overcame serious sack calls before an upturn in form saw the Blues seemingly become Arsenal’s main Premier League title challengers en route to taking two steps back at Elland Road on Wednesday night.

It has been a campaign of immense highs and lows for Chelsea this season, though inconsistency and a lack of quality in key positions look likely to prevent them from winning a major trophy this season.

This is the view of Gary Neville, who has argued that Chelsea’s spine is not good enough and the Manchester United legend has called for Chelsea to focus on signing a new centre-back and goalkeeper as they are currently “miles away”.

For the centre-back position, ex-Chelsea star Joe Cole has explained why he thinks his former club should look no further than Crystal Palace and England star Marc Guehi.

“Marc Guehi would be someone you bang the doors down for to sign. He is someone who can come in and help the young group, he knows the club inside out,” Cole told Paddy Power.

“It’s a no-brainer, but it won’t be something that’s on the cards for Chelsea, simply because it’s against where the club are heading in terms of signing younger players.

“I personally don’t like January for signing players, as even after the Leeds defeat, Chelsea are where they should be, gently nudging your Arsenal and Man City’s of the world as title contenders.

“It’s all well and good performing like they did against Arsenal with ten men, but you have to then go to Leeds and get a result if you’re going to challenge for the title.

“That’s just factual. When you start that game at Elland Road, with the history of the fixture and how Daniel Farke likes to set his teams up, it’s so difficult to pull it back from 2-0 when you’re in the eye of that storm.”

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Guehi is among a host of Premier League stars set for a transfer in 2026 as he is in the final year of his contract, with it looking like he could finally join Liverpool in January or next summer.

Guehi has been linked with other clubs, but it is somewhat baffling that Chelsea have not appeared in the conversation for the centre-back over the past year.

The 25-year-old does not quite fit into Chelsea’s transfer model, but the club proved with the pursuit of Mike Maignan that they are willing to make concessions for the right player and a move for the England international is a no-brainer given his quality and price tag.

Chelsea previously beat Liverpool to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia for around £156m, and they should at least try to do the same with Guehi, who is the necessary upgrade at centre-back needed to boost their title aspirations and silence Neville.