Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Chelsea ace Marc Guehi may benefit as three first-team players could leave Blues
Chelsea defender Marc Guehi has impressed on loan at Swansea, but is being eyed for a first-team role with question marks over senior players ahead of the January transfer window
Chelsea: Lampard confident of bouncing back against Wolves
Chelsea ace Marc Guehi could be set for a role in the first team with three players set to leave Frank Lampard's side. Young defender Guehi is currently on loan at Swansea City, but Chelsea's staff view him as a future Premier League star.
While Lampard's side are preparing for their trip to face Wolves on Tuesday, Guehi will be gearing up for Swansea's next Championship game at Derby the following day.
The 20-year-old centre-back has impressed during his second loan spell at the Liberty Stadium, and kept a clean sheet in Saturday's 2-0 win away to fierce rivals Cardiff, which saw Steve Cooper's side climb to third in the table.
Guehi will remain with Swansea until the end of the season, but Lampard and his staff are watching the defender's progress closely.
He is also being monitored by several other clubs from around Europe ahead of the transfer window re-opening, with his current contract at Stamford Bridge set to end in 2022.
JUST IN: Petr Cech makes embarrassing gaffe on Chelsea return against Tottenham
And while no talks have yet been held over a new deal, Chelsea are eyeing Guehi as the next academy graduate to make the step up to the first-team squad, according to The Athletic.
The publication reports that Guehi will join Lampard's first-team stars for pre-season training next summer, so that staff can determine whether he is ready to join the senior squad or would benefit from another loan.
Lampard currently has a glut of centre-backs at his disposal, but that is a situation which could change quite dramatically over the next season or two.
Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger have dropped down the pecking order and could be sold either in January or next summer, rather than be allowed to leave for free when their contracts expire in 2022.
DON'T MISS
Champions League draw: Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City discover fate [FIXTURES]
Chelsea must avoid De Bruyne mistake as Havertz pressure ramps up [ANALYSIS]
Chelsea's Frank Lampard hits back at Jurgen Klopp over title claims [QUOTES]
Fikayo Tomori has also fallen out of favour, although the 22-year-old is contracted until 2024.
And while Thiago Silva has transformed Chelsea's defence since his arrival on a free transfer in the summer, he is 36 and has yet to decide whether he will exercise his option to stay for another year.
Chelsea wages: Chilwell and Werner lead way ahead of Havertz as salaries emerge
Guehi has been at Chelsea since he was eight years old, and has won several trophies with the club's youth sides.
He has also represented England through the age groups, helping to win the Under-17 World Cup in 2017.