Chelsea's potential move for Marc Guehi could pose a wage problem.
Crystal Palace's English defender could comfortably command a salary in the region of £200,000 per week at top Premier League clubs. Guehi's earnings are also expected to reflect his transfer value, which could easily exceed £50m considering Palace wanted £70m last summer.
His value will slowly drop from here as he only has 18 months left on his contract, but Chelsea also have a strict wage structure with lower basic terms but longer deals for their top stars.
That could be another sticking point as Chelsea consider bringing back the academy graduate, who left Stamford Bridge for £18million in 2021. A deal for Guehi is more likely in the summer, even if Palace are reluctant to sell.
But Chelsea want reinforcements after losing Wesley Fofana for possibly the rest of the season. Blues boss Enzo Maresca has admitted his admiration for Guehi but has not ruled out a recall for Trevoh Chalobah.
“All I can say is that Marc Guehi is a Palace player. I certainly like Marc, but he is not our player. But I also like the central defenders we have.”
“I also like different types of central defenders in Italy, Spain and France, but that doesn't mean we're going to buy a player. It's a normal situation, I think when you have injured central defenders, that the speculation is there. At the same time there nothing.
“This is exactly the same [a Chalobah recall]. Unfortunately I have to give you the same answer. Trev is a good player but at the moment he is a Palace player so we will see.”
Although Chelsea are currently missing Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, they still have several centre-backs to choose from, including Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi and summer signing Tosin Adarabioyo.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner has played down the chances of Guehi leaving this month. He said last week: “I think so. Not a single player on our team came up to me and said [they] wants to leave. Nobody.
“No one who has played all the games and all the minutes, like Marc, and none of the players who have not played as many minutes. This is the most relevant part: what the player tells me. If someone comes and says he wants to leave and both clubs find an agreement, then I think that will happen.
But as long as a player doesn't come – and Marc hasn't come – I'm not worried about him leaving. January 31 is a long time. [away]and I know I will have to answer this question several times. You will hear the same answer again.
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