Chelsea should prioritise the re-acquisition of Marc Guehi, says Joe Cole.
Guehi came up through the youth ranks at Chelsea and signed his first professional contract with the Blues, but he never ended up playing a league match for the London club. Instead, the centre-back went out on loan to Championship side Swansea before signing a permanent deal with Crystal Palace in 2021, and he has since become a standout player at Selhurst Park and earned 22 England caps.
For Cole, who spent seven seasons at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's biggest need in this transfer window is in the middle of the defence and there's none better in that position in the Premier League than Guehi.
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It's just unfortunate that the Blues let Guehi go in the first place, he said.
“The priority for Chelsea is in central defence," Cole said while talking to Paddy Power. "Benoît 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.”