Chelsea and Newcastle are after the same Premier League star but Enzo Maresca has a secret weapon
As has seemingly been the case every season since 2018, Chelsea are aiming to overhaul the spine of their team in the summer transfer window with a goalkeeper, centre-back and striker all high on Enzo Maresca’s shopping list.
However, they’re far from the only team looking for defensive reinforcements in the transfer market as a fellow Londoner has emerged as one of the top big six targets following four sterling seasons as a Premier League mainstay.
Marc Guehi is a man in demand this summer with one year left on his Crystal Palace contract aged 24 and apparently no desire to extend his stay at Selhurst Park, meaning the Eagles must cash in on their captain now or lose him for nothing in 12 months.
Guehi has been targeted by a host of clubs including Tottenham and Liverpool but the Blues have emerged as front-runners to capture him for around £50 million, alongside Eddie Howe’s Newcastle who are desperate for a star centre-back to headline their return to the Champions League.
The Chelsea academy graduate faces a tough choice between two Champions League clubs but Enzo Maresca may have a secret weapon to tempt Crystal Palace to send Guehi to Stamford Bridge rather than St James’ Park in the form of Trevoh Chalobah.
Chalobah tailor-made replacement for Crystal Palace
It’s almost haunting how similar Guehi and Chalobah are. Neither player is the most physical in the Premier League with the pair boasting 54 and 59% win rates in aerial duels, but both make up for it with their comfort in possession and willingness to take the ball into the opposition final third while excelling at tackles on the floor particularly in the middle of the pitch.
Indeed, FBref.com lists each as the other’s second-most similar player in Europe’s top five leagues. And to top it off, Chalobah and Guehi have played together for the same two clubs. Born 372 days apart on Africa’s Atlantic coast, both players move to London as infants and they grew up only three miles apart, subsequently catching the eyes of Chelsea scouts.
In Chelsea’s run to the 2018 Youth League final all three of Guehi’s starts came in the only games Chalobah missed, yet his last appearance for the Blues came in October 2019 ahead of stints at Swansea City and Selhurst Park while Chalobah has always been kept closer to the action and played for the senior team every season since 2021/22.
Yet Chelsea’s top brass appeared to have gone off Chalobah ahead of the 2024/25 season as he was exiled from the first team squad then sent on loan to Crystal Palace where he flourished before an early recall. Chelsea pulled similar shenanigans with Nathan Ake - which turned out brilliantly for the Dutchman - and Oliver Glasner must hope he can produce the same kind of effect bringing Chalobah to south London permanently. Chalobah played over 1,000 minutes under Glasner between October and December, offering defensive solidity, a welcome goal threat and signalling that post-Guehi life might not be so bad in Croydon.
Marc Guehi ticks every box for Chelsea
If you’re understandably wondering why Chelsea would go to all this effort to re-sign Guehi when they apparently have a carbon copy already under contract at Stamford Bridge, the simple answer is that (right now at least) he does the same things, just better. Guehi has similar but better tackle percentage, touches in attacking areas, goal creation, blocking stats than Chalobah to name but a few, and Chelsea can afford to pay for that upgrade.
The 25-year-old just isn’t a finished article to the same degree as Guehi, as the latter’s earlier and permanent departure has enabled him to rack up almost double the Premier League minutes of Chalobah at 11,636 compared to 5,975. Chalobah is yet to be capped by England while Guehi is one of the Three Lions’ most important players having started every game of Euro 2024 except the quarter-final which he missed through suspension.
Crystal Palace can afford to develop Chalobah while Chelsea can’t, and are willing to pay for the privilege of skipping that development phase. Chelsea’s latest valuation of Chalobah hasn’t been made public but his price tag jumped from around £20-25m 12 months ago to £40m in January, and it’s probably safe to assume it will be similar to that in this window.
If Glasner is to lose Guehi, getting a ready-made replacement who has already proved a success at Selhurst Park plus £10-15m to add to his transfer kitty would surely be an attractive option rather than a larger fee that he’d need to invest into unknown quantities. And coupled with Djordje Petrovic’s seriously impressive loan spell in goal at Strasbourg, Chelsea could give their defence a significant upgrade while spending the bare minimum in transfer fees.
Continue Reading