Chelsea submit ambitious offer despite club chief issuing 'superstar money' warning

Chelsea are reportedly pushing ahead with their plans to add a centre-back amid reports Enzo Maresca wants more depth at the position. The Blues have lost Wesley Fofana for some time, with the centre-back likely to be sidelined for months, and perhaps even for the rest of the season.

Josh Acheampong started alongside Levi Colwill over the weekend, while Tosin Adarabioyo, Axel Disasi and Renato Veiga are all potential options. The latest report suggests Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi is the prime target as far as centre-backs go, with Guehi having left Stamford Bridge in 2021 after coming through the club’s academy.

According to The Sun, Chelsea have gone as far as offering Palace £55million to land Guehi, but that is going to fall a long way short of their valuation. Palace held out for £75million from Newcastle United over the summer and wound up keeping hold of the England international, with the Magpies deciding not to meet that valuation.

The report dismisses Chelsea’s offer as ‘silly’, with Palace expected to quickly reject it. At this stage of the season, their valuation is likely to be even greater given they would need to replace one of their most important players midway through the season.

Palace chief Steve Parish said during the summer window: "We would like to keep hold of him. There is a price and a situation where we might consider it. Somebody [in another interview] said he is a superstar, so somebody has got to pay superstar money. Realistically, he is homegrown, 24 years old and a sensational talent - so somebody has to make it difficult for us. At the moment, it isn't.

"He will still be at Crystal Palace at the moment, but it's not impossible [that he goes]. He is certainly not making anybody's life difficult, his agents are decent people. It is a very good situation. Whether he is here or not will make no difference as to how he performs."

What Guehi has said about Chelsea exit

Guehi left Chelsea in 2021 after struggling for first team football as a youngster, and he said after his departure: “It's such a different feeling leaving there and not going back to where you've been for so long. But in order to grow, sometimes you have to take the hard choice and take the hard path sometimes.”

He added: “I felt, coming off the back of playing so many games at Swansea, I just wanted to carry on my development. I felt like Crystal Palace was the best place for me to go and do that.”