Marc Guéhi has emerged as one of the best centre-backs in English football. His form for Crystal Palace contributed to a historic FA Cup triumph in 2025, while making him a regular in the England team. It has also seen him linked with a potential big-money move to clubs including Liverpool and Newcastle United.
Born in Ivory Coast in 2000, he moved to England at the age of one, and was in Chelsea’s academy by the time he was eight. Capped by England at every age level, he captained their Under-17s to a European Championship final in 2017, before winning the Under-17 World Cup later that year.
After making two EFL Cup appearances for the Chelsea first team, he broke through at senior level while on loan with Swansea City in the Championship. Crystal Palace saw his potential and signed him for a reported £18m in 2021, and by March 2022 he had earned his first senior England cap. Within two years he was a mainstay of the England team that reached the Euro 2024 final, which he followed by lifting the FA Cup in 2025 as club captain of Palace.
Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed his game…
Technical analysis
Marc Guéhi is a right-footed centre-back who has played in a back four and back line of three. One of his strengths is blocking attacking actions when he is 1v1, particularly shots and crosses close to goal. In doing so he makes himself big and imposing, protecting the line to goal. He also times his blocks well; he doesn’t lift his foot too high (below), which limits the chances of a low shot or cross squeezing underneath.
Guéhi also blocks while not overstretching or overreaching with his action, which means he is rarely off balance. With his controlled approach he limits the chance of the ball being played through his legs. This is useful against crafty attackers who look to shift and shoot, or cross through the legs of a defender at the moment they fully engage with the ball.
Guéhi can also drop and block low to the ground, especially against driven efforts, which minimises awkward deflections. Although this can appear slightly unconventional, it often proves effective. One downside to slide tackling, however, is that ending fully on the floor can leave him unable to respond quickly enough with his next defensive action.
In a more set position he blocks passes well, courtesy of his positioning. He can also intercept passes through anticipation, accelerating to steal the ball as he moves away from his original defensive position. He can adjust and shift his body to intercept passes close by, before connecting with teammates.
Aerial duels and cover
The 6ft Guéhi competes well during contact in the air. He can intelligently pin and lock down opponents with well-timed holds, bumps and nudges. This means that if he doesn’t win the initial contact, he can still significantly affect it. He is also clever at disrupting the jump of his direct opponent during the flight of the ball, using contact from behind to limit how early or powerfully his opponent can jump. That means any potential height disadvantage for him isn’t much of an issue. Indeed, because of this he can sometimes win headers without the need to jump.
When he fully commits and jumps as high as possible, he has a great leap. This means that he isn’t as exposed by his relatively (compared to other centre-backs) smaller frame. As with all good defensive headers of the ball, where possible he tries to find a teammate (below) rather than simply clearing anywhere.
As well as jumping high, he can also compete for the ball in the air in multiple directions. He has the power and timing to recover back to his own goal, but still face forward and so track the flight of the ball. Even when dealing with an oncoming attacker, he can still win the first contact securely and confidently. This is one of the toughest moments to win an aerial duel, but is an area in which Guéhi competes well.
He also provides good cover and support as the second defender, around and underneath, for anything flicked on or missed. His impressive physical profile means he can usually match the runs of his direct opponent, and he has the pace to compete with athletic attackers.
In possession
Guéhi is adaptable with the ball. He can break lines by playing through, or punch passes around blocks to progress in wide areas. He can also hit longer passes with accuracy and precision. His longer passes over the top and switches of play across the pitch have proven useful during build-up, or when attacking higher (below). Ultimately, he has the impressive passing range that is necessary for a top-level modern centre-back.
As with Kalidou Koulibaly and Virgil van Dijk, Guéhi prefers to play on the left side of central defence, despite being right-footed. This often means he opens the pitch up more, because he will take touches back towards the centre on his stronger right foot. This has been evident when he has played in a back three and back four – his longer passes and switches of play become a way of progressing the ball. However, his pass type is often dictated by the formation he is playing in, along with the support and positioning of his teammates. That is, he can only switch play to the opposite side if someone is there, ready to receive, as with longer balls in behind.
He has shown variety in his longer passes and switches, however, such as dropping the ball into teammates with enough backspin for them to pin opponents. On other occasions, when the distance into a central teammate is a bit shorter, he has used a scooped technique. He can also hit longer passes or switch play to teammates receiving on the move, such as driving lower balls across the pitch. He has steadily improved with his left foot, too, lifting balls down the line or away from danger. This is useful when he can’t get on his right side, or an opposing press has locked him that way.
Centre-back in a back three
After Oliver Glasner’s appointment as Crystal Palace head coach, Guéhi became a key part of a back five. He began as the middle centre-back, but soon established himself on the left side. Under Glasner in the 2024/25 Premier League season, Crystal Palace often utilised mid- and low blocks, ranking fourth for total defensive duels and aerial duels. Palace also had three players in the league’s top 10 for most interceptions, including Guéhi.
Playing on the left of Palace’s three centre-backs, Guéhi helped protect the centre alongside the likes of Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards. He had an obvious focus on the left inside channel, covering inside left wing-back Tyrick Mitchell. Operating as one of the wider centre-backs in a back five, Guéhi also had to cover the wide areas and defend channel balls, as well as switches across the pitch and any wide attacking combinations. Whenever Mitchell jumped out to press, for example, Guéhi was required to cover and protect, adapting his game depending on his direct opponent.
When Guéhi has engaged a winger remaining wide to receive, he has needed to be nimble enough to deal with typically fast, twisty and agile opponents who prefer to dribble and carry the ball (below). This means more duelling on the ground, as well as more tracking and jockeying to delay attacks. When a centre-forward has moved wider to compete around Guéhi, the defender has often needed to intercept, stepping in front and stopping service. On other occasions he has been required to compete in aerial duels, dealing with diagonal passes and long balls. Whatever has been necessary, Guéhi has shown adaptability in his defending as a wide centre-back.
In possession, Glasner’s Palace have often had a narrow attacking unit, with two central attackers, Eberechi Eze and Ismaïla Sarr, supporting a single number nine – mostly Jean-Philippe Mateta. Guéhi has then had central teammates he can find ahead of the double pivot. As such, he has broken lines with incisive central passing, as well as playing more through balls than he did under previous managers. With the wing-backs in wide areas, switches and longer passes across the pitch have also been available for Guéhi to demonstrate his passing range, especially from left to right.
Centre-back in a back four
Before Glasner’s arrival at Palace, Guéhi was used mostly as a left-sided centre-back in a back four. In that role he spent more time defending the central spaces, in the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formations of previous managers, Patrick Vieira and Roy Hodgson. That included a responsibility for engaging against dropping centre-forwards (below), competing directly in duels from straighter passes through the centre. He has also defended into midfield when playing in Glasner’s back three, but that has been as support to a double pivot.
In Palace’s back four, Guéhi operated as a covering defender, mostly alongside Joachim Andersen – especially with the latter competing for more aerial duels than Guéhi in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. This meant Guéhi had to call on his interception and blocking abilities. He also needed to read the game to predict and defend the second phase, while tracking and blocking opposing runs around this.
With the ball, in a back four Guéhi frequently switched play and hit longer passes. That was because he had teammates – including Michael Olise, Jordan Ayew, Jeffrey Schlupp and Wilfried Zaha – who wanted to attack 1v1 in wide areas as often as possible. In addition, Nathaniel Clyne and Joel Ward at right-back provided switching options as they supported the winger on their side.
Whatever the system, Guéhi has shown fantastic versatility and adaptability with his game, in and out of possession. In doing so he has served Crystal Palace and England well, earning plaudits and silverware along the way, with the promise of more to come.
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