Joe Cole has bemoaned Chelsea’s decision to sell Marc Guehi, a player they are currently trying to bring back to Stamford Bridge.
Guehi joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of seven before signing his first professional contract with the club in 2017.
The centre-back made his first-team debut in September 2019 but only made one more appearance for Chelsea before going on loan to Swansea City for two seasons and then being sold to Crystal Palace.
Palace spent £18m to bring Guehi to Selhurst Park in the summer of 2021 and he quickly became a key player for the club, amassing more than 100 appearances.
Guehi’s form for the Eagles led to an England call-up in 2022 and he was one of the Three Lions’ best players during their run to the Euro 2024 final last summer.
The 24-year-old’s performances out in Germany attracted interest from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and his boyhood club Chelsea.
Chelsea have revived their interest in Guehi during the January transfer window and are keen to welcome the defender back to Stamford Bridge as Enzo Maresca battles a minor injury crisis.
Wesley Fofana recently suffered an injury setback and Maresca has also had to cope without Benoit Badiashile over a festive period in which Chelsea suffered a major blip, all-but ending their chances of challenging for the Premier League title.
Cole would be delighted to see Guehi return to Chelsea but says he should never have been sold in the first place.
‘The priority for Chelsea is in central defence,’ Cole told Paddy Power when asked where his former club should look to strengthen this month.
‘Benoit Badiashile is picking up injuries and Wesley Fofana has been wonderful, but he keeps on breaking down.
‘Levi Colwill is a young player who’s done well but he still needs to develop and improve, and he will do.
‘It’s so frustrating for Chelsea because they’ve sold someone like Marc Guehi, and he’s gone on to become a top centre half which I could see [at the time].
‘Guehi is a proper player and he’s in England’s starting line up now and Chelsea are going to have to fork out to get him back. It’s an area that needs to be sorted out at Chelsea.
‘Some of the lads, like Axel Disasi, haven’t quite settled as much as the club would’ve liked.
‘I like the links with Marc Guehi but it’s just frustrating that they need to go and buy players that they’ve sold – Chelsea do it far too often!
‘If needs must, and it’s the right move, you have to do it and I don’t think there’s a better centre-half in the country, outside of Manchester City and Arsenal, he’s as good as anything there is, and he will get better.’
Chelsea’s stuttering form continued at the weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Guehi’s Crystal Palace.
The Blues have now failed to beat Palace, Ipswich Town, Fulham and Everton since December 22.
Discussing Chelsea’s recent wobble, former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘There are a few alarm bells ringing because they had 15 attempts against Palace and only one on target.
‘That is a big problem and not just for the centre-forward, but for the whole team.
‘They are too reliant on Cole Palmer. Jadon Sancho had a good game and I think his game has gone to a new level since joining, but I am a bit worried that Chelsea are not killing off games.
‘Enzo Maresca was right and they were probably never in the title race but we had to talk about them because they were high in the league.
‘It is now a worry if they can still finish in the top four. I believe they can and it is just a blip they are going through but it is going to be an interesting end to the season.’
Chelsea will be expected to get back to winning ways on Saturday when they face League Two outfit Morecambe in the third round of the FA Cup.
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