Chelsea may get the opportunity to sign one of their top targets for absolutely nothing next summer.
Enzo Maresca is keen to strengthen his central defence, with Wesley Fofana picking up injury after injury.
As a result, Chelsea are pushing to sign Dean Huijsen, who has really impressed at Bournemouth this season.
There is a lot of competition for Huijsen’s signature, so the Blues could end up missing out on him, but they do seem to have other options.
- READ MORE: Wesley Fofana’s latest injury makes it clear Chelsea must sign £70m centre-back this summer
Marc Guehi could leave Crystal Palace for free
One other option who appears to be high on Chelsea‘s shortlist is Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi.
At one point, it was even claimed that Guehi was Chelsea’s priority and that the Blues were no longer in the race for Huijsen.
Guehi is approaching the final year of his contract at Palace, so the Eagles will want to strike a deal with someone to avoid losing him on a free transfer in 2026.
Fabrizio Romano has claimed on X, though, that there is a possibility of Guehi leaving Selhurst Park next summer for nothing if a deal cannot be agreed now.
It means that if Chelsea do not want to pay £60m, £70m or whatever their Premier League rivals are asking for, there could be a chance to land him on a free transfer next year.
Whoever ends up with Guehi, be it this year or in 2026, they will be getting an excellent defender.
When Real Madrid and England superstar Jude Bellingham spoke about Guehi at Euro 2024, he said (via TNT Sports): “He’s such a nice guy, you forget about his physical presence and playing against him. Whenever I see him going for headers, I think it’s nice-guy Marc and then boom, it’s not-so-nice Marc! He’s a brilliant guy, uncle Marc!”
If Chelsea do not want to pay Guehi’s full valuation this summer, one thing they could do to lower the price is offer Palace Trevoh Chalobah.
Chelsea confident they can sign Marc Guehi in the next transfer window
While Palace have slapped a huge price tag on Guehi in the past, Chelsea do not seem to be too worried about that.
It has been reported that Chelsea are confident they can sign Guehi when the transfer market reopens, though you would expect them to end up with either the 24-year-old or Huijsen and not both.
They still have the likes of Fofana, Levi Colwill and Chalobah at the club, who are not bad options.
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