Exclusive: Chelsea Boss Maresca Urges Board to Move for Crystal Palace Captain Marc Guehi

Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea head coach, is pleading with his employers to join the race for Crystal Palace centre-half Marc Guehi.

Sources close to the Italian have revealed he wants to bring the England centre-half on board in order to improve the experience of a squad whose inconsistency continually threatens to undermine its bid for major honours.

Liverpool, who appeared poised to snare Guehi over the summer before deciding to focus their energy and finances on Alexander Isak instead, would like to reach an agreement with Guehi during next month's transfer window. 

Now, following a deterioration in his relationship with Stamford Bridge’s board of directors, Maresca is also circling after identifying a lack of nous and know-how as the biggest factor behind The Blues’ chequered form of late.

With Guehi preparing to leave Selhurst Park in order to further his footballing ambitions, the skirmish to secure his signature is expected to be one of the fiercest in recent seasons. 

Although Maresca has been criticised for being too outspoken in the past, not least when he called for more passion inside Chelsea’s home stadium at the beginning of his reign, in this instance he appears to have picked his battle carefully. 

In other news, Chelsea are desperate to offload youngster Tyrique George in January in a bid to free up funds, with Fulham poised to reignite the interest they showed during the summer window.

PEAK POWERS

Aged 25, an established member of Thomas Tuchel’s squad and about to enter his peak years, Guehi is still young enough to fit within The Blues’ policy of collecting up-and-coming players. 

Yet, as he prepares to make his 250th professional appearance, Guehi also possesses all the qualities Maresca craves. 

With little or no influence over recruitment, he hopes that will be enough to persuade sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart to advocate on his behalf during their meetings with owners BlueCo, who have the financial resources to challenge their Champions League rivals. 

Guehi actually began his journey with Chelsea, making two appearances for them before being sold to Palace for £18m. 

His valuation has ballooned since then, with The Reds initially ready to invest around £80m in The Eagles’ captain. 

By telling Palace he will not extend a contract which is set to expire in June, Guehi has ensured that figure is now significantly lower, although his salary demands are likely to have risen to compensate for this.