Joe Cole slams Chelsea for selling £18m star who could have captained club

Chelsea let go of a possible club captain in Marc Guehi, says Joe Cole (Picture: Getty)

Joe Cole has called for Chelsea bosses to conduct an investigation to get to the bottom of why Marc Guehi was allowed to leave the club for Crystal Palace back in 2021.

Guehi had been tipped for a bright future at Stamford Bridge while rising through Chelsea’s academy ranks having joined the club at the age of just six.

But the central defender made only two first-team appearances for the Blues before spending a year-and-a-half spell on loan with Swansea City in the Championship.

Guehi played every single minute of the 2020/21 campaign as the Swans missed out on promotion via the play-offs, catching the attention of a number of top teams in the Premier League in the process.

He would go on to depart Chelsea for London rivals Crystal Palace in a deal worth around £18million – and it was at Selhurst Park that a star was truly born.

Guehi has made a seamless transition to life under Guardiola at City (Picture: Getty)

FA Cup and Community Shield victories saw Guehi cement his place in Palace history last season before another high-profile move followed in January, as Manchester City saw off strong competition to land the England international for a fee of just £20m.

In the months that have passed, Guehi has since slotted into City’s defence as if he has been there for years.

‘He came from Chelsea from the age of six, we sold him to Crystal Palace and now he’s at Manchester City and he looks like he’s been there for 20 years,’ Cole said.

Guehi made only two senior appearances for Chelsea before leaving for Palace (Picture: Getty)

‘I’m looking at him and I’m thinking: how has this kid got a Manchester City shirt on? The team should have been built around him five years ago.

‘Whoever has let him out the door at Chelsea… if I’m the owner, I’m going, “Right, who’s decision, or what collective of people’s decision, was it to think it was a good idea to let this kid leave the club?”.

‘Everyone would go, “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me!”… unless you find out who is making these decisions, these decisions will continue to happen and you’ll keep losing players like that. You need to do an appraisal on it.’

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