Talks held: Chelsea encouraging £70m-rated star to push for transfer | OneFootball

Chelsea are reportedly stepping up their efforts to bring in a new centre-back this summer, according to the latest information coming in today.

According to Simon Phillips via his Substack, the Blues have been holding internal talks about the situation as they eye a move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, whilst also considering recalling Trevoh Chalobah from the Eagles.

Guehi has been linked with Chelsea and other top clubs in recent times after impressing at Selhurst Park, but it’s believed he could cost as much as £70million to prise away from Palace.

According to Phillips, CFC have been working to persuade Guehi to do his bit to push for his current employers to let him go, and one imagines an unhappy and unsettled player could be key to driving his price tag down.

Marc Guehi transfer or Trevoh Chalobah recall for Chelsea?

Marc Guehi in action for Crystal Palace (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Guehi is a fine player who’d surely be an upgrade on the likes of Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile at Stamford Bridge, but this clearly won’t be an easy deal to get done.

In many ways, there seems some sense in recalling Chalobah, who is also more than capable of doing a job in Enzo Maresca’s first-team.

The 25-year-old struggled for playing time before leaving Chelsea on loan for Palace last summer, but he’s never let the team down when he has played.

Spending big on Guehi might be the more exciting option, but there’s no guarantee that big-money signings will work out, so the west Londoners might do well to wait and assess their options until the summer.

It will be interesting to see how this develops, though, with Chelsea clearly keen to strengthen at the back, and with Phillips noting that Disasi could even be a player that leaves the club soon.