Chelsea target Marc Guehi

Chelsea are interested in signing Crystal Palace central defender Marc Guehi, according to Football Insider.

Guehi is out of contract at Crystal Palace at the end of the season and will not sign a new deal with last season’s FA Cup winners. Liverpool wanted to sign the defender in the summer transfer window, but Palace pulled the plug late on after they failed to find a suitable replacement for the England international.

Former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider: “I was surprised Liverpool didn’t have more competition in the summer.

“So now we’ve got all of these clubs interested in him and planning to make offers to him when he becomes available on a free, and that’s not a shock to anybody.

“He’s England’s first-choice centre-back and has years of experience in the Premier League, so he would improve whichever side end up getting him.

“Guehi has continuously showed what he can do both for Palace and for England, and it’s no surprise some of these elite clubs have been having a look at him now.

“It’s a huge bargain if you can get a player of Guehi’s quality on a free transfer.

“Chelsea are the latest team I’ve heard are looking to make a move because he came through their academy so that could be a bit of an advantage to them.

“The manager wants to improve his defensive options, so of course Guehi is going to be an option, but I expect they’ll have to wait until the end of the season rather than doing it in January.

“He would be an upgrade on the options they’ve got there at the moment, so it would be more of a surprise if they didn’t try to bring him in, to be honest.”