Chelsea must regret selling £75m "tank" who is better than Colwill

Chelsea lost to Brighton and Hove Albion once again, this time in the Premier League. After a 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup last weekend, Enzo Maresca was out for revenge against Fabian Hurzeler.

The game didn’t go to plan for the Blues, however, as a double from Yankuba Minteh alongside a well-taken goal from Kauro Mitoma saw the Seagulls prevail 3-0 at the AMEX.

Since the turn of the year, the Stamford Bridge side have only won two top-flight matches as they have slipped further down the league table.

Several players haven’t been performing to their full abilities of late. Cole Palmer has failed to score in his previous five matches. Considering Chelsea have won just two of those fixtures, his downturn in form is perhaps no coincidence.

Another player who hasn’t been at their best of late is Levi Colwill, especially against Brighton on Friday evening.

Levi Colwill struggled against Brighton

The defender played the full 90 minutes against the South Coast side during the 3-0 defeat, but he struggled to cope with the frantic nature of the home side.

He may have won eight of his nine total contested duels during the clash, along with completing 93% of his passes, but Colwill was poor in dealing with the threat Brighton posed, especially in his own penalty area.

Indeed, he was given a match rating of just 3/10 by the Standard and was heavily criticised by Blues content creator Vdyk for his display on Friday evening and unless he improves rapidly, he could find himself out of the starting XI, that’s for sure.

This performance was a culmination of a series of poor displays leading up to the match. Against Manchester City a few weeks ago, the Englishman made an error for one of City’s goals as the Blues suffered a 3-1 defeat.

Back in 2021, Chelsea sold a centre-back to fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace. Since then, he has gone on to become one of the finest defenders in the top flight.

Right now, he is certainly better than Colwill, without a shadow of a doubt.

How much Chelsea sold Marc Guehi for

After making just two senior appearances for Chelsea after coming through the academy, Marc Guehi knew that a move elsewhere would be the only chance he would have of igniting his career.

He spent time on loan at Swansea City, but by the summer of 2021, Crystal Palace were keen on keeping him in London. A deal was struck which saw the youngster move to Selhurst Park for a fee in the region of £20m, which was an impressive profit secured by the Blues.

Although he hadn’t been tested in the Premier League, his success with the Welsh side in the Championship meant he was an interesting signing.

Over the next three and a half seasons, Guehi has gone from raw potential to gaining 22 caps for England while making over 100 appearances for Palace.

How Chelsea would love a player of his quality still at the club.

Marc Guehi’s Crystal Palace statistics

Across his first two seasons at Palace, Guehi missed just three Premier League matches, establishing himself as a regular at the club.

A knee injury restricted his appearances to 25 in the top flight last season, but during his time on the pitch, the 24-year-old was a dependable part of the defence.

Across the entire campaign, Guehi won 60% of his total duels contested in the Premier League, while also making 3.5 clearances, 1.1 tackles, and recovering 4.8 balls per game for Palace.

These statistics show just how impressive he was for the club as they retained their status in the top flight for yet another season and he was hailed by a former teammate at youth level, Josef Bursik, who said: “He’s an absolute tank.

“It’s like having a brick wall in front of you, he’s massive.”

His strength is undoubtedly one of his finest attributes, evidenced by the fact he won over half of his total duels last term.

Given Colwill’s recent poor form, Chelsea must now come to regret selling someone like Guehi, who has developed at a quicker rate than the current Chelsea centre-back, that’s for sure.

Marc Guehi is better than Levi Colwill

Comparing the two defenders with regard to their performances in the Premier League this season proves that there is one who is outshining the other.

Indeed, Guehi has registered more goal contributions (four vs one) in the top flight this term, along with registering more shots (0.43 vs 0.3), tackles (36 vs 29), percentage of dribblers tackled (67.9% vs 64.7%), progressive carries (ten vs nine) and aerial duel won (57 vs 53).

The best thing is, Guehi hasn’t actually been performing at his very best, especially during the first few months of the season, yet he has still managed to outperform the current Chelsea centre-back.

This speaks to just how impressive of a talent the England international is and exactly why the club should regret selling him, as he could have been a great option for Maresca right now.

How much Marc Guehi is valued at now

Chelsea have shown some interest in bringing Guehi back to Stamford Bridge due to his rise at Palace.

Newcastle United did make several offers last summer for the Englishman, but they were rejected by the London club as they looked to build their team around him.

According to GIVEMESPORT, Chelsea are now the favourites to lure the defender back to his first club, although it would take an eye-watering amount to make it happen.

This summer could be the perfect chance to sign him, as he only has a year left on his current contract by the time the summer comes around.

Palace will still demand a fee of around £75m, however. Depending on the other areas of his team that Maresca needs to strengthen, might this prove to be a stumbling block?

Only time will tell, but by signing Guehi, the Blues will be improving their defensive options. That’s a certainty.