Chelsea defeated Manchester United 1-0 on Friday evening and are just a win away from clinching a berth in the Champions League next season. Once that objective is complete, Enzo Maresca is set to have a busy summer with not just the Club World Cup to play for but also a major squad rebuild on the cards, especially in the defensive department.
One of the club’s primary targets, Dean Huijsen, has already signed for Real Madrid, so the Blues have drawn up a list of alternative central defenders they could acquire in the summer. According to Sky Sports, Ajax Amsterdam’s Jorrel Hato, Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite and Crystal Palace man Marc Guehi are the three players on Chelsea’s radar.
Branthwaite has been linked with departing the Toffees several times in the recent past, whereas Hato is a target for Arsenal as well as Liverpool, so there will be serious competition for his services. Guehi, meanwhile, is expected to leave Selhurst Park in the summer as he enters the final 12 months of his contract, so he could be the easiest of the lot to acquire for the Londoners.
Guehi most likely to join Chelsea
Marc Guehi’s name has been on Chelsea’s shortlist since a few months. The English international is a Cobham graduate and knows the Blues well, while earlier this year, they received a major boost in their pursuit of the 24-year-old as it was understood that he would prefer continuing to live in London as opposed to moving elsewhere, such as Liverpool, who have also been keen.
Jorrel Hato is still very young and relatively inexperienced, while the competition from Chelsea’s domestic rivals is likely to make him an expensive option. His lack of Premier League experience is also something the club will be wary about in comparison to its other targets, particularly given that a new signing will be expected to walk straight into Enzo Maresca’s starting eleven.
On the other hand, Everton have always looked to price Jarrad Branthwaite’s suitors out by slapping an incredibly high price tag on the Englishman and are likely to do the same this time around as they move to a new stadium with some much-needed funding as well. Chelsea are unlikely to want to overpay, more so considering that they will rebuild other areas of the squad too.
