“Maresca rates him highly” – Report claims Chelsea ready to make £70m defender move | OneFootball

Chelsea are continuing to be linked with one of their former players who is making a name for himself in the Premier League after leaving in 2021 for £18m.

The Daily Mirror have an exclusive from their football writer John Cross covering the intensifying interest in the 24 year old.

“Chelsea are determined to lead the chase for in-demand England defender Marc Guehi this summer,” Cross wrote today, adding that the Blues are “huge admirers” and are “keen to bring back their academy graduate.”

He notes they tried to sign him in January, but were put off by the big asking price Crystal Palace slapped on him. Instead, the Blues simply recalled the on loan Trevoh Chalobah from Selhurst Park instead. That has worked in the short term, but there’s still an endless feeling that this squad misses a really elite, experienced and physical centre back to compete at the top level.

Guehi deal has many moving parts – but Maresca is a fan

Signing Guehi promises to be a big ask, as Cross notes. From this summer there will be just 12 months left on his contract, bringing his price down sharply.

Cross claims to know that “Enzo Maresca rates him highly,” not only as a player but “as the sort of defensive leader to bolster his squad and dressing room.”

We’re all in favour of the idea, it’s just a question of how much the youngster will cost and who will be competing for him. A wild card in the whole situation is the 20% sell on clause Chelsea included in the deal to sell Guehi in the first place. That should mean some form of discount for us which other clubs won’t get.

There are increasingly some really interesting central defensive options on the market now, and if Renato Veiga and Axel Disasi are sold we can see Chelsea making a splash.