Chelsea told not to sign ex-Cobham star despite impressive Euros displays

Wayne Bridge says Chelsea should not bring back Marc Guéhi

While speaking to Betfred, as quoted by Football London, former Chelsea player Wayne Bridge recommended his former club to not re-sign Marc Guéhi.

Bridge had this to say on the matter:

“He’s a great player, but I’m not sure.

“Chelsea already have a number of centre-backs and I think if they’re going to buy another it needs to be guaranteed they’re the main one. I don’t know if Guehi is going to be that one.

“You don’t need anymore centre-backs as squad players, you need that one player that’s going to be their rock at the back like Thiago Silva was for them.

“He was a leader for Chelsea and they need somebody that’s going to be the backbone of the team. I’m not so sure about that move.”

Guéhi, a Chelsea academy graduate, moved to the first-team setup during Frank Lampard’s time as the team’s head coach before moving to Crystal Palace in a €23.34m move.

Since then, the 23-year-old has only gone from strength to strength and is currently gathering plaudits for his recent performances for England at UEFA Euro 2024. He is also likely to start the final this weekend against Spain.

Guéhi’s current £50k-a-week contract at Crystal Palace is set to run until the end of June 2026, so one can expect the Eagles to move towards extending his contract soon after the Euros finish. He is even attracting interest from outside of England.

In his three years at Selhurst Park, Guéhi has made 111 appearances for the Eagles across all competitions, scoring five times and providing two assists in that time.

Bridge’s argument has weight

Guéhi has established himself as an excellent player, of that there is no doubt. But one also cannot entirely dispute the point Bridge is making here.

One of Chelsea’s biggest issues thus far have been their tendency to pick up every shiny object on the market; that’s simply not how you build teams for sustainable long-term success. The Blues hierarchy need to slow down their acquisition process and let time marinate the squad into a coherent set of players.

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Therefore, while Guéhi would improve quite a fair few defences across Europe, returning back to Stamford Bridge is not a call one can make a substantial argument for.