Chelsea could reportedly take advantage of Crystal Palace's decision to take a financial hit on Marc Guehi as he is set to be worth less than the £70million the Eagles demanded last summer.
According to The Mirror, Palace are prepared to take a financial hit over the defender, though it's said the club wouldn't entertain bids in January. The 24-year-old has been the subject of intense interest from Premier League clubs, including Newcastle United and Liverpool, while Chelsea are also in the mix.
Guehi came through the ranks at Cobham but made just two first-team appearances before leaving the club on a permanent deal to join Palace in 2021. As part of the deal, Chelsea had included sell-on incentives - reported to be 20% of the profit Palace makes - and the right to match any offers made for Guehi in the future.
Having established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League, Guehi was the subject of a number of offers last summer, with Newcastle seeing their £65million bid rebuffed. While the south Londoners have valued Guehi at close to £70m, his market price will be a lot less in the summer when he will have just 12 months left on his contract.
Nonetheless, it's said that Palace chairman will not entertain bids in the New Year once the transfer window reopens. And so far, there has been no indication that Guehi is willing to extend his stay at Selhurst Park.
Even if Chelsea opted against bringing the England international back to Stamford Bridge, the Blues could get a healthy windfall from a potential deal with any profit Palace make from the transfer. If Newcastle had paid £65m for Guehi in the summer, Chelsea would have received around £9.4m from the south London club.
But as it stands, it's unlikely that Chelsea will receive anywhere near that sum due to Guehi's diminishing value.