Chelsea He fought hard to win against Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 at Stamford Bridge. Premier League Monday night to move into fourth place in the division.
The Blues are battling for a Champions League place for the 2025/26 season and took another step towards achieving that goal with victory over Wolves.
Away from the scorers, centre-back Trevo Chalupa caught the eye with a strong performance on his return to the club after a loan spell with Crystal Palace in the first half of the season.
Academy graduate won Six of his eight fights He made three interceptions that night, but Chelsea are now said to be eyeing a player in his position who could be better suited to him Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea are confident of signing a new centre-back
According to the Jeffmisport websiteThe Premier League giants are confident they will secure a deal to sign Crystal Palace defender Mark Guehi.
The report claims the Blues are “adamant” that they will eventually win the race to sign the England international, even if they have to wait until the summer to do so as Palace are unwilling to cash in on him mid-season.
states that The Eagles value the central defender at around £70m and Chelsea believe Guehi is interested in returning to Stamford Bridge for a second spell at the club.
GIVEMESPORT adds that the player's interest in making the move could give the Blues an advantage in the race to sign him, which could be why they are so confident of completing the deal.
If Chelsea eventually win the race to sign Guehi, it could be a great feat for Maresca, as he could come as an immediate upgrade over Chalupa.
Why Guehi could be an upgrade for Chalobah
Naturally, the two centre-backs spent the first half of this season playing in the same defensive unit for Palace, and it was the England international who caught the eye with his impressive performances.
It is worth noting that Guehi was already He was crowned 22 times By England at international level, while Chalupa is yet to make his debut, suggesting that Gareth Southgate has viewed the former as the better option of the two in recent years.
Their respective performances in the Premier League for Palace this season support this view, with the Eagles captain having been far more dominant from a defensive perspective.
|
Premier League 24/25 |
Mark Guehi |
Trevoh Shaloba |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
21 |
13 |
|
– Tackles + interceptions per match |
2.3 |
3.2 |
|
Dribbling past in one match |
0.4x |
0.8x |
|
Ground fencing success rate |
66% |
58% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
63% |
57% |
As you can see in the table above, Chalupa made more defensive tackles per game, but that left him being dribbled twice more often, while losing more of his duels on the ground and in the air.
These statistics indicate that Juehi was once Southgate called him “phenomenal”.It is difficult for opposing players to overcome him in dribbles and duels, and this may make him more solid in defense with Chelsea compared to his former teammate.
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Therefore, Maresca must be happy that the Blues are confident of securing a deal for the Palace star, as he could come in and immediately improve the team with his dominant defensive play.
