Chelsea can officially start to make moves during the summer transfer window after it opened for business on Sunday, and that includes exits as well as incomings.
Towards the end of last month, the Daily Mail reported that Crystal Palace could make a move to bring Trevoh Chalobah back to Selhurst Park, after they qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup.
trevoh-chalobah-chelsea-premier-league
It remains to be seen whether or not the Blues would be willing to part ways with the academy graduate, whom they recalled in January, but they were willing to send him out on loan to Palace last summer.
Chalobah started the Conference League final against Real Betis, but was also an unused substitute in the last two Premier League games as Chelsea chased a top-five finish.
Chelsea eyeing deal for new centre-back
The 25-year-old defender, whose sale would represent pure profit for the Blues as a homegrown player, could find himself on his way out of Stamford Bridge amid talk that the club are interested in bringing another centre-back to the club.
He is already behind Tosin Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, and Wesley Fofana, when available, which suggests that the addition of another player in that position could send him too far down the pecking order.
With a move for Liam Delap all but sewn up, now according to The Guardian, Chelsea are 'considering' a swoop to sign England international Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Blues are eyeing up a deal for the English centre-back, who is 'widely expected' to move on from Selhurst Park ahead of next season.
Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi
The Guardian recently reported that Palace value Guehi at a fee of around £65m, although it remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea would be willing to pay that much for their former defender.
Why Chelsea should sign Marc Guehi
The Conference League champions should swoop to sign the £65m-rated England international this summer because he would arrive as a big upgrade on Trevoh Chalobah, due to the defensive qualities that the former Cobham star can bring to the side.
Guehi, who has previously been hailed as “unbelievable” by podcast host Aaron Moniz, is a proven Premier League performer who has been there and done it and could hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
As a former academy graduate, he would also not need much time to adapt to life at Cobham and with some of the players with whom he would already be familiar, like the captain Reece James, which could work in his favour.
24/25 Premier League Marc Guehi Trevoh Chalobah
Appearances 34 25
Tackles + interceptions per game 2.6 2.4
Clearances per game 4.6 4.2
Blocks per game 0.2 0.1
Duels won per game 4.9 4.2
Duel success rate 59% 59%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Guehi's performances in the Premier League this season also suggest that he would be a big upgrade on Chalobah as an out-and-out defender.
Whilst the individual statistics may not show a big difference, with only 0.4 more clearances per game or 0.2 more tackles and interceptions per game, it is the fact that he is ahead of the Chelsea defender in every category that stands out.
Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi celebrates after the match
This means that Guehi could come in and offer more to Enzo Maresca's side as a centre-back in every aspect of defending, from winning duels, to making blocks, to being in the right place at the right time to make vital clearances.
He is also less prone to making mistakes. Chalobah made two errors that led to goals in the Premier League, whilst Guehi did not make a single error that led directly to a goal, which suggests that the Palace star would be more reliable at the heart of the defence.
Sancho Related
Big Sancho upgrade: Chelsea step up move for 'one of the world's best'
Chelsea could be ready to land an upgrade on Jadon Sancho this summer
Therefore, Chelsea should press ahead with a deal to sign the £65m-rated English star this summer because he could come in as a big upgrade on Chalobah to improve Maresca's defence next season.