Chelsea’s move for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi this month has failed to materialise due to concerns over how much a deal would cost.
The Blues have considered bringing back one of their academy stars, who has since thrived after choosing to leave the club in search of regular minutes. Guehi has made himself an England regular whilst at Selhurst Park and now has a number of admirers. Talks over a January move have been held with Palace making it clear they wanted £60million despite Guehi having just 18 months left on his current deal.
That is less than the £75million they demanded off Newcastle in the summer, with the England centre-back the subject of several bids.
Chelsea had hoped that an offer of between £45m-£50m would be whet Palace’s interest and seal a deal for a player who the Blues sold to Palace for £18million in 2021.
That deal included a 20 percent sell-on clause and rights to match any transfer offer from rival clubs. The sell-on clause effectively allows the Blues to secure a discount on the defender’s transfer fee.
But Palace want to maximise their profits should they lose Guehi and, whilst Chelsea were understood to be willing to ignore the sell-on clause, the £60m they are demanding – exclusive of the clause – is seen as too much.
Chelsea have also learned that Guehi would be seeking weekly wages of £170,000 which, under the new structure implemented by Todd Boehly and co, would make the defender one of the club’s highest earners.
The west Londoners have been open to offloading several players this month, which they hoped could fund their interest in Guehi. Renato Veiga and Axel Disasi could both leave – with the former keen on joining Borussia Dortmund to play in his favoured centre-back position – but one man returning to Stamford Bridge is Trevoh Chalobah, who was on a loan at Palace.
His stint at Selhurst Park has been cut short as Chelsea struggle with injuries to their backline. The defender could eventually become a factor in any Guehi deal should the Blues look to resurrect a move in the coming weeks, or indeed in the summer.
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