Chelsea will bid farewell to talented young defender Marc Guehi this summer with Crystal Palace close to completing the signature of the 21-year-old, according to the Athletic.
David Ornstein and Stuart James of the Athletic have found that the centre-back was actually having a medical with the Eagles today, ahead of signing a five-year contract with the South London club.
Palace have secured the signature of an in-demand talent as it’s noted that Southampton, West Ham, Newcastle, Norwich, Brentford, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach were all keen.
Patrick Vieira’s new club being willing to invest heavily in Guehi is what’s won Palace the race whilst most interested parties were eyeing a loan deal that included an option to sign the ace permanently.
The Standard report that the deal will in fact be worth up to £20m, marking a considerable return for the Blues on one of their talented academy graduates.
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The Athletic add that Chelsea were reluctant to part ways with the England Under-21s international, but the proposal from Palace was ultimately deemed as too good to turn down and Guehi will be sold.
Whilst some of the Blues faithful will be disappointed to see a exciting prospect – who has impressed in the Championship with Swansea over the last 18 months – leave the club, there’s some respite…
The Athletic state that Chelsea have included a sell-on clause in the deal as well as matching rights.
Guehi made two senior appearances for Chelsea, both coming in the first-half of the 19/20 season in the League Cup. The ace then headed out to Swansea on loan and hasn’t looked back since.
The Ivorian-born defender made 14 appearances for the Jacks in his initial six-month stint, showing enough ability to earn another loan move for the whole of last season.
Guehi made 40 appearances in the Championship last season, helping Swansea to a fourth-placed finish before appearing in each of their playoff appearances as they were defeated in the final.
Guehi certainly seems ready for the challenge of Premier League football, Chelsea supporters will be sad to see that it won’t come with them but a switch to Palace offers the likelihood of being an instant starter.
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