Chelsea and Palace could do business this summerplaceholder image
Chelsea and Palace could do business this summer | Getty Images
Chelsea should consider offering one of their nearby rivals a swap deal this summer.
Chelsea have an obvious swap deal they should be considering as the summer transfer window continues to unfold. The Blues have some obvious priorities this summer as they look to build a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title while also making a run in the Champions League.
Enzo Maresca has already landed a striker in Liam Delap, who joined from Ipswich Town, and it appears as though he wants another. Beyond that, a winger is a must following the departure of Jadon Sancho, and a centre-back is the other real priority. Maresca also seems to be keen to sign a new goalkeeper, but that situation remains up in the air.
A top-level centre-back is a must, and one of the more logical options is former Chelsea man Marc Guehi. Guehi is going into the final year of his contract at Palace, and while he won’t come cheap, likely costing around £60million, he is a proven option for club and country, he is relatively affordable and he is still only 24 years of age, which fits the club’s ethos of signing players who can grow in value and ability.
One option Chelsea have to reduce the cost of a possible deal is to offer players as part of the transfer, and the obvious one would be Trevoh Chalobah. Chalobah knows Palace well after spending the first half of last season on loan at Selhurst Park, and while Maresca praised his impact following his return, Guehi would be a clear upgrade, while Chalobah could also get the regular football he is seeking at Selhurst Park.
Chelsea also seem to be willing to offload Benoit Badiashile this summer, and Tosin Adarabioyo could even seek more regular football. Palace could get more than one centre-back out of the deal, and that could benefit them greatly as they look to add depth ahead of their first-ever European campaign.
The Blues would surely have to add some cash to any deal, be it one or two players, but a swap deal of some sort could benefit both clubs this summer.
Crystal Palace’s stance on Guehi and others
This is a big summer for Palace as they look to strengthen and keep hold of many of their best talents ahead of a European campaign. Asked about that factor, Eagles chairman Steve Parish told The Overlap US: “The first thing is we need to stay in the division so that's the first north star and that's obviously not easy as we can see from even Man United and Tottenham this year. They're not really close to relegation, but that's arguably because we have all taken a lot of points this year off the bottom three clubs. Anything that increases the risk of that dramatically, it's very difficult to find a way to do it.
"After that, then, of course, we will be a trading club. We want to survive and thrive in this division for two reasons: firstly because financially you have to cover the cost of running the club and, secondly, because the kind of players we want to attract we need to show them a pathway.
"We're a destination for those great pros that have still got a massive competitive instinct, still want to do well, still want to give everything when they cross the white line but they realise they're probably not quite going to get to the level above us. Then there are players that are on a journey and on their way to the Bayern Munichs and other clubs. We realised over a period of time that we have to be really open to it.
"The thing you have to do with clubs like ours is manage that process as well as you can so not to lose too many. I remember Sir Alex [Ferguson] used to try and bring in two players every summer. He thought any more than that was very difficult to integrate in the squad. That would be the kind of number of your real premium talent that you would be really able to deal with in any one summer so trying to time things so you can manage that is what we're trying to do."
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