“He’s a strong leader” “Scared Chelsea are getting him” – Phil Foden believes Chelsea could sign £60m leader player
Phil Foden from Manchester City stated that if Chelsea were to re-sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, they would be acquiring a strong leader.
Guehi, who is 24 years old, has been considered for a return to his previous club, which he departed in 2021 to join Palace in an £18 million deal. Should the Blues bring the England international back to Stamford Bridge, they would likely need to pay about three times that amount, plus a bit more to appease the south Londoners. It seems, though, that the Blues are content to wait until summer to attempt to secure Guehi’s signature.
The central defender has been captaining Palace in the absence of skipper Joel Ward, who has fallen out of favour under Oliver Glasner. Foden is one of many people who know Guehi’s footballing and personal qualities, having played alongside him during England’s run to the final of Euro 2024.
Guehi played in every match aside from the Three Lions’ quarter-final triumph against Switzerland and was a last-ditch, goal-line clearance from Dani Olmo away from netting a last-minute equaliser against Spain in the final. And not only does Foden rate Guehi as a defender, he rates him as a leader.
Speaking on the official England YouTube channel during the European Championship, the Manchester City ace said: “He [Guehi] has been a leader.
“I know him well from obviously playing with him and he’s not fazed by anything. I feel like he has come into the team and shown his qualities.”
Palace were holding out for £60million when the Blues expressed an interest in signing Guehi, who has around 18 months left on his contract at Selhurst Park, this month. However, GiveMeSport report Chelsea are happy to wait till the summer to make a move, particularly after re-calling Trevoh Chalobah from Palace.
The Blues have suffered a minor injury crisis in their back-line, with Wesley Fofana in danger of missing the rest of the season and Benoit Badiashile injuring his thigh. Levi Colwill was also ruled out of the Blues’ 3-1 home victory over Wolves on Monday night.
But while Maresca admitted he is happy with the central defenders at the club, the Italian admitted before their recent 1-1 away draw against Palace that he is an admirer of Guehi. Maresca said: “The only thing I can say is Marc Guehi is a Palace player.
“I like Marc for sure but he is not our player. But I like also the central defenders we have. I also like different types of central defenders in Italy, Spain and France but that doesn’t mean we are going to buy a player.
“It is a normal situation I think when you have central defenders injured that the speculation is there. At the same time, there is nothing there.”