Chelsea's clever transfer plan to re-sign Marc Guehi could be scuppered for one reason

Chelsea's hopes of bringing back Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace have reportedly hit a stumbling block.

The 24-year-old, who is said to have become a target for the Blues in January owing to their defensive injury crisis, spent 14 years at Stamford Bridge as a youth player, making two senior appearances before his stand-out loan stint with Swansea City in the Championship.

With Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca already missing main centre-back pair, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile, and 18-year-old Josh Acheampong making his Premier League debut on Saturday, the Blues are reportedly hoping to arrange a swap deal involving Trevoh Chalobah - who is currently on loan at Palace.

However, reports from The Daily Mail reckon that Chalobah's wages could be a sticking point.

The 25-year-old reportedly earns £80,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge and, while Palace could theoretically match his salary, they're cautious about Chalobah demanding a pay rise when switching clubs. Palace are open to signing Chalobah permanently, but would rather not include Guehi in the deal.

Chelsea, in turn, may now have to negotiate their deal without using Chalobah as a bargaining chip to lower the Eagles' asking price.

Guehi was slapped with a hefty £70million price tag during the summer transfer window, with Newcastle making four unsuccessful offers to secure his services following his stellar displays in Euro 2024 for England. Chelsea could consider recalling Chalobah from his season-long loan, much to the chagrin of Palace boss Oliver Glasner.

Glasner highlighted that Maresca has other options besides debutant Acheampong, and mentioned Chelsea's decision to recall centre-back Aaron Anselmino from his stint at Boca Juniors. "I could see that there was [Axel] Disasi and Tosin [Adarabioyo] on the bench," Glanser commented after the teams' 1-1 draw on Saturday.

"I don't know if you need [more] if you play with two. I was just reading that Anselmino comes back so they have five [centre-backs]. I don't know if they need eight, I don't know what they are planning.

"Trevoh is doing very well for us and we are planning with him. I think that [he will stay]. No player from our squad came to me and said [they] want to leave. No one.

"No one that played all the games, all the minutes, like Marc, and no one from the players who didn't play so many minutes. This is the most relevant part: what the player tells me.

Ahead of Chelsea's third-round FA Cup clash with League Two outfit Morecambe, Maresca addressed Chalobah's status, saying: "Trev we know him, he's a good player. At the moment he is a Crystal Palace player, so we will see."

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