By Paul Jones

Marc Guehi is showing Premier League class defending for Swansea City at present and it’s no surprise given who is smoothing his path.

The Swans centre-back has been in outstanding form after Chelsea legend Claude Makelele had a word in the youngster’s ear and further advice from Carlo Cudicini.

Both men agreed Swansea is the perfect place to help the young on-loan Blues defender realise his dream of one day becoming a regular in Frank Lampard’s senior side at Stamford Bridge.

England Under-21 centre-half Guehi impressed at the end of last season as Steve Cooper’s Swansea suffered Championship play-off heartbreak.

He returned to Chelsea and to train at Cobham in August and sat down with Lampard’s loan coach Cudicini and technical mentor Makelele to discuss his future.

“Once I’d spoken with the manager and a few others it was a no brainer to come back to Swansea,” Guehi, 20, said. “I enjoyed a good end to last season and the team got into the play-offs.

“From a personal view it was just great to be playing games. That’s what I want to do and hopefully we can push on this season.

 

Claude Makelele is rightly regarded for being a generational talent in terms of his defensive prowess, whether it was him playing a more proactive role in La Liga or his more calculated work in England. https://t.co/k6uENrs27E

— Ninad (@The7Galacticos) September 25, 2020

“I did go back to Chelsea in the summer. I trained a little bit, but didn’t speak directly with Frank as there are people there who are in charge of the loan players like Claude and Carlo.

“I had a little word to hear their thoughts on me and what I’d done last season. We all came to an agreement Swansea was the best place for me.”

Guehi joined Chelsea at the age of nine and he is different to the huge numbers of other players Lampard has out on loan in that he has already played for the first team.

Last season he started two Carabao Cup ties – a 7-1 hammering of Grimsby and a 2-1 loss to Manchester United where he marked Marcus Rashford.

Guehi then headed to Swansea in January and his form at Championship level has been outstanding. “I’m very happy with Marc and I’m seeing him growing as his experience continues,” said Swansea head coach Cooper, who was in charge of Guehi when England Under-17’s won the 2017 World Cup. “He’s really thriving in what we’re asking him to do. He’s a good player. We’re really pleased he re-signed and I think he’ll play a really important part in what we want to do.”

Guehi won five trophies in one season with Chelsea’s youth team and can say he scored in a World Cup final after netting the last of England’s goals in their 5-2 win over Spain in 2017.

He has picked up the good form he showed for Swansea last season after returning to the Liberty Stadium for the 2020/21 campaign.

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Guehi plays in a young centre-half trio alongside Wales squad members Joe Rodon and Ben Cabango in Cooper’s favoured 3-5-2 formation.

Swansea and Guehi are yet to concede a goal in the league this season as they prepare to host Millwall this afternoon.

“We all have a good understanding with each other. We talk a lot off the pitch and work really hard,” said Guehi of his team-mates Cabango,20, and Rodon who is 22.

“We have a strong team with really eager lads who want to impress. We are doing really well at the moment and we can push on from here if we work hard.

“We’re not only focused on winning games and pleasing the fans, but a lot of focus here also goes on developing players. Swansea is definitely the best place for me to push on.”