According to a report by The Athletic, Crystal Palace are closing in on the permanent signing of Marc Guehi from Chelsea.
The Atheltic don’t state how much Palace are to pay for the defender, but the offer was reportedly too good to refuse from Chelsea’s standpoint, so it may be an expensive one.
The defender has spent the last two seasons out on loan at Swansea City working under Steve Cooper, who was of course strongly linked to the Palace job this summer.
Cooper may not be coming to Selhurst Park, but Guehi seems to be on his way, with the ever-reliable David Ornstein claiming that he’s close to signing for the Eagles.
So, what type of player will Palace be getting here? Well, perhaps the best way to judge him is to look how his former manager Cooper has spoken about him.
“Marc is a good player and will be a positive addition to the squad,” Cooper said when he first signed him.
“He’s come through a hugely successful academy at Chelsea.
“He’s athletic, but he can play comfortably with the ball. He is used to having the demands put on him to get the ball from the goalkeeper and start attacks.
“Defensively he is good and that’s obviously an important feature in senior football. In this league you come up against all sorts of sizes, and you have to handle it.”
It sounds as though Guehi is ready-made for Premier League football, acting as an athletic centre-back who is comfortable on the ball.
As Cooper said, Guehi has come through a great academy with Chelsea, and his performances in the Championship have shown that he’s ready to make the step up to the Premier League.
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