Crystal Palace centre-defender, Marc Guehi has no regret for leaving his childhood club, Chelsea for a relatively less competitive club, Crystal Palace.
The 21-year-old English defender said he had to leave Chelsea for Crystal Palace because he wanted to play more regularly.
Marc Guehi is a product of Chelsea’s youth system. He represented the club at the under-18s and under-23s levels between July 1, 2016, and May 31, 2021.
He made a total number of 104 appearances for Chelsea youth teams, he made two of the appearances in Chelsea’s senior team. Despite being a defender, he scored nine goals and provided seven assists for the youth teams.
Still, Marc Guehi was not able to break into Chelsea’s senior team. Hence, when Crystal Palace came up with €23.34 million to sign him on July 18, 2021, the English youngster grabbed the opportunity.
The five-year deal he signed with Palace in 2021 is reportedly earning the 21-year-old Ivory Coast-born defender £21,739 per week which means he earns a total of £1.1 Million per year playing for Crystal Palace. Guehi’s contract with Palace will expire on June 30, 2026.
Marc Guehi is proving himself at Crystal Palace
So far in the 2021-2022 season, Guehi has made 35 appearances in all competitions for Crystal Palace in which he scored four goals.
The fact that he has been so consistent at the Premier League club has won him a call up to England’s national team. Guehi made his debut for the Three Lions of England on March 26, 2022. He has only one international cap to his name which means that he is still open to playing for Ivory Coast until he makes his second appearance for England.
🚨 Wholesome content alert 🚨
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) March 17, 2022
Marc Guéhi reacts to getting an England seniors call-up for the first time 🏴#CPFC | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/3WGqWTAsHh
On Sunday, April 17, 2022, Marc Guehi will face his childhood club, Chelsea, in the FA Cup semi-final round. Ahead of the game which will kick off at 16:30 at the Wembley Stadium, Guehi stressed that it was the right decision to leave Chelsea for Palace.
“I thought the decision to leave Chelsea and come to Palace was the right one to get that game time and hopefully show what I can do,” Guehi said.
“Coming here didn’t mean it was going to be a given that I would play, I still had to prove myself, work hard, train hard, but it was definitely the club I thought would give me the platform to do so.
“Patrick (Vieira, Crystal Palace manager) has definitely got me thinking about the game in a completely different way, both very tactically and on the ball especially because I have improved a lot in my decision-making.
“It is really hard at this level, a step up from the Championship, so every decision you make is a vital one and can lead to an important or decisive part of the game. He has definitely helped in that aspect.”
Playing Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final is not a motivation for Guehi
Marc Guehi does not see anything special in playing his former club, Chelsea, in the FA Cup semi-final game on Sunday. The most important thing for him is that the FA Cup has given a club like Crystal Palace the opportunity to rub shoulders with the bigger clubs in the Premier League.
Crystal Palace are in search of their first FA Cup title in the club’s history and they have to go through more funded and experienced clubs to get it. Hence, every game in the tournament is a motivation for the 21-year-old Ivory Coast-born English defender.
“As players going into this competition, it’s massive and it means everything. For clubs like us to be in and around the likes of (Manchester) City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, being in the semi-final is amazing,” Guehi said.
“The motivation is there for every game. I wouldn’t say just because it is Chelsea and because I grew up there, spent time there, that that gives me any extra motivation.
“The fact it is a semi-final for Crystal Palace, in the FA Cup, that’s the motivation in itself.”
If Crystal Palace manage to beat Chelsea in the semi-final stage of the FA Cup on Sunday, they will face either Liverpool or Manchester City in the final of the competition.
Marc Guehi – Ball Playing Defenderpic.twitter.com/C6ThCX6tXq
— Enes (@EMG_38) December 21, 2020
