Marc Guehi of England during the UEFA U19 Championship Qualifier between Greece U19 and England U19 at St Georges Park on March 23, 2019 in Burton-upon-Trent, England. (Getty Images)
According to The Sun (h/t Wales Online), Swansea City are among a host of clubs interested in securing a loan deal for Chelsea starlet Marc Guehi during the January transfer window.
As per the report, the Swans could look to scour the loan market during the mid-season trading period, having already been linked with moves for Liverpool academy duo, Rhian Brewster and Curtis Jones.
Swansea could face stiff competition in their pursuit of Guehi, who has already made a couple of first-team appearances in the EFL Cup under Frank Lampard this term.
Championship promotion rivals, Bristol City and Nottingham Forest, as well as Premier League strugglers Norwich City and Southampton, are all keen on completing a loan deal for the 19-year-old central defender. (Sun h/t Wales Online)
Born in Ivory Coast, Guehi started his footballing education at the Cray Wanderers youth system before being scouted and signed by Chelsea back in 2007. The teenager impressed for the U23 side at the Premier League 2 level before earning his senior professional debut under Lampard this season.
The 19-year-old, who is held in high regard by the youth coaching staff at Cobham as a player with loads of potential, has already made his mark for England at the U21 level this year, earning 6 caps since his debut back in August.
A part of the England U17 squad that lifted the 2017 U17 FIFA World Cup in India, Guehi has been making waves with his rapid development in Chelsea’s youth system in recent years.
Meanwhile, Swansea City are back in business heading into Christmas after registering back-to-back victories over Middlesbrough and Luton Town in the Championship.
A winless run of six league games stretching over a month from early November to early December saw the Swans fall out of the race for automatic promotion, but their resurgence prior to the Boxing Day trip to Brentford certainly looks like a promise of better things to come.
Having scored 30 goals and conceded 27 in 23 games so far, Swansea have done reasonably well at both ends of the pitch but manager Steve Cooper might need to bring in some fresh faces in January to enhance squad depth and bolster his team’s surge for promotion.
While adding more firepower further up the pitch should be high on the club’s transfer agenda, the Swans can certainly do with another centre-back in the ranks.
The central defensive pairing of Joe Rodon and Mike van der Hoorn was instrumental in Swansea’s strong start to the campaign but things haven’t really been the same since Rodon’s ankle injury back in October.
Watford loanee, Ben Wilmot, has stepped in to fill the void left by the injury to Rodon while teenage academy graduate Ben Cabango has also played a part alongside van der Hoorn, who continues to be a regular fixture at the back under Cooper.
To put things into perspective, Rodon has dealt a huge blow to Swansea’s promotion hopes and securing a loan deal for Chelsea prospect Marc Guehi in January could go a long way towards plugging the holes at the back.
Guehi’s impressive transition to Chelsea’s senior ranks this term, as well as his strong displays for England at the U21 level, means that the 19-year-old certainly has the talent and the potential to help Swansea in their bid for promotion in the Championship.
Going by experience in senior professional football, it is hard to label the 19-year-old as an upgrade on the likes of Wilmot and Cabango.
That said, the Ivorian’s development at Stamford Bridge has earned him rave reviews and a loan move to a Championship club would ideally be the next big step in his learning curve as he looks to make a more substantial impact on Chelsea’s first-team in the future.
Suffice to say, the arrival of Marc Guehi would certainly provide Cooper with some valuable cover at the back heading into the crucial second half of the campaign, whilst also increasing competition for places.
In fact, someone like Cabango could also benefit from the 19-year-old’s arrival, given that it might open the door for him to go out on loan elsewhere and hone his skills with more regular minutes.
Plus, Cooper’s proficiency in extracting the best out of talented youngsters has been well-documented over the course of his managerial stint at the Liberty Stadium.
All in all, Marc Guehi to Swansea City in January seems to make perfect sense for all parties involved.
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