Chelsea move for £60m-rated England international ‘gathering pace’ as Arsenal, Tottenham watch on

**Chelsea’s pursuit of highly-rated Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi is ‘gathering pace’ as Mauricio Pochettino looks to bolster his defence. **

The Blues have already brought in Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku this summer as talks to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton continue.

The majority of Chelsea’s transfer business, however, has focused on outgoings rather than incomings, with the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Kalidou Koulibaly and several others leaving the club.

Koulibaly’s departure and a serious injury to Wesley Fofana leaves Pochettino with Thiago Silva, Trevor Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill as his only senior centre-back options as it stands.

As a result, he is considering a move for Guehi, who has been in fine form for Crystal Palace. Last season, he made 37 Premier League appearances, helping the Eagles to 10 clean sheets and scoring one goal.

Guehi’s performances also earned him a call-up to the England national team in May last year, making four appearances for the Three Lions so far.

_READ MORE: **_ **Pochettino changes tack as Chelsea prepare £112m bid for untouchable Caicedo alternative wanted by Liverpool, Man City

Chelsea move for Guehi ‘gathering pace’

As reported by TEAMtalk, Chelsea have already opened talks with Crystal Palace over signing Guehi this summer. Arsenal and Tottenham are also interested, but the Blues are credited with the most concrete interest.

Roy Hodgson is very reluctant to let the 23-year-old leave the club, though, especially with centre-back partner Joachim Andersen also being linked with a departure.

Guehi is under contract until 2026, so it would most likely require a hefty bid from Chelsea to convince the Eagles to sell him. They have reportedly placed a £60m price tag on him.

Nevertheless, according to _Football Insider, _Guehi’s potential move to Chelsea is now ‘gathering pace’ as talks between the two clubs continue.

Guehi actually began his career at Chelsea but found minutes hard to come by, before joining Crystal Palace in 2021.

The defender is reportedly ‘not 100% sold’ on the prospect of returning to his former club. That is partly because Chelsea finished 12th last season, and therefore missed out on qualifying for European football.

As a result, Guehi could opt to wait and see if any offers come in from any other teams, such as Arsenal or Tottenham, before he makes a decision on whether to re-join the Blues.

Before that, though, Chelsea still need to agree a fee with Crystal Palace, which, as mentioned, will not be simple. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if they submit a concrete offer in the next week or so.

_READ MORE: **_ **Liverpool to push for ‘priority’ Fabinho replacement ‘next week;’ Chelsea behind in race for £50m target