Pundit claims Chelsea must regret not including buy-back clause for superb Man Utd-linked centre-back
Marc Guehi has emerged as a target for Man Utd
Danny Murphy is certain that Chelsea will regret the fact that they did not include a buy-back clause for centre-back Marc Guehi amid reported Manchester United interest in the Crystal Palace star.
The 23-year-old is rapidly maturing into one of the Premier League’s top centre-backs after swapping Stamford Bridge for Selhurst Park back in 2021 for a reported fee of just £18million.
Guehi has also emerged as a starter for England, having been named in Gareth Southgate’s first XI for the recent outings against Ukraine and Scotland.
He could also keep his place for the upcoming friendly with Australia and Euro qualifier against Italy, although first-choice regular John Stones is now back in the fold so it will interesting to see which direction Southgate goes in.
Guehi’s fine form has also seen him linked with numerous Premier League rivals, including the likes of United, Arsenal and Tottenham.
And Murphy admits that, while he understands Chelsea‘s decision to let the player go in search of regular first-team football, not seeing the potential in Guehi was a major fail on their part.
“I think it’s always difficult when players are on a certain journey that doesn’t align with the club,” said Murphy on talkSPORT.
“And what I mean by that is he wanted to play every week, he was probably at Chelsea at a time where players ahead of him were rightly ahead of him.
“And although you might see this potential and this emerging talent for a year or two years down the line, if he’s completely unsettled and there’s a value to get him gone and take the money for him and let him go, you [do that].
“I mean, they should’ve put a buy-back clause in of a reasonable amount maybe.”
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Chelsea academy stars falling by the wayside
Guehi is one of a number of Chelsea academy stars who have failed to make the mark and ended up moving on, including fellow England colleague Fikayo Tomori – who is now excelling at Milan.
The Blues have also spent massively to improve their defence, with Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana all being signed for big money.
Mauricio Pochettino also has the likes of Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah to call on in a loaded centre-back room.
As for Guehi, he has made seven appearances in the Premier League this season, helping Palace keep a league-high four clean sheets in the process. He was also a virtual ever-present last season as the Eagles finished 11th, having pulled away from relegation trouble under Hodgson.
Chelsea return to Premier League action on October 21 when they host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
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