GARETH SOUTHGATE confirmed Marc Guehi was already on his radar when the England boss namechecked the Crystal Palace starlet in November.
And such is the rapid progress of the Premier League’s youngest regular centre-back that a spot on the plane to Qatar is not out of the question.
Guehi, 21, joined the Eagles permanently in a £20million deal in the summer after 14 years at Chelsea, whom he faces at Selhurst Park today.
Southgate likes his players to be clean-cut, dedicated professionals and Guehi, currently captain of the England Under-21s, is exactly that.
In fact his scholarly, methodical approach to the game predates even his Chelsea days.
Guehi was on the books of Cray Wanderers, London’s first club and the second oldest in the world, from age five to seven.
The Isthmian League Premier side, which began in 1860, is based in Sidcup, South-East London.
But the club’s kids used to train up the road in Mottingham’s Foxes Fields, round the corner from the council estate where Guehi grew up.
Steve Owen, 63, was the man who discovered the precocious five-year-old who, even back then, already knew exactly what he wanted to be.
Most players started off life as a striker, banging in goals at youth level, before dropping back to the position they play professionally.
Yet Guehi plays in the same role now that he did when he first came through the doors at Cray: left-sided centre-half.
Owen, who also unearthed Ruben Loftus-Cheek, explained to SunSport: “From a coaching point-of-view, he was an absolute dream. Anything you asked of him, he’d do.
“The only thing he wouldn’t do was play in another position!
“He wouldn’t go past the halfway line. His whole intent was to stop the opposition.
“From a young age, he stood out. I wouldn’t say he was the most talented players, but he was very studious.
“When he wasn’t playing, he would sit and study the older boys playing.
“He was so serious about his football that I would think, ‘He’s not enjoying it’, but obviously he was. He was an absolute winner, even at five.
“That dedication he has was there from the start. We used to do half-term soccer schools an when we would stop for a lunch break, you would have to call Marc in. He just wanted to carry on kicking a ball!”
That determined mentality has helped Guehi’s shot to stardom which has taken him through the Chelsea academy, on a coming-of-age loan to Swansea, to the England Under-21s, Palace and now in the conversation for his country at senior level.
Guehi idolised John Terry as a kid and was his own harshest critic, though is learning to be less hard on himself of late.
He came on leaps and bounds during an 18-month loan at the Liberty Stadium working under Steve Cooper, with whom he won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017.
But that spell had its tough moments, such as when he found himself out of the squad altogether following a poor display in a 4-4 draw at Hull just before the pandemic struck.
The deal had a break clause at six months and Guehi was questioning himself as to whether he should cut it short.
Yet Cooper convinced the youngster to stick at it and he came roaring back to play a huge role in the Swans’ back-to-back play-off finishes.
The easy thing would have been to go on loan again this season but Guehi, always aware of what is best for his development, wanted regular games at a permanent home.
Palace made their interest known early and managed to complete a deal.
It is understood to include a clause that gives Chelsea the option to match a bid should the Eagles accept one in the future – though it is not set any particular fee.
Safe to say the move has worked out and there could even be interest in services at the end of the season. Newcastle, with Saudi riches now burning a hole in their pocket, were keen last summer, albeit on a loan.
Guehi is well-liked within the England set-up as Southgate’s comments proved.
But he is not the type of character who would be happy to be selected for the senior side just to make up the numbers.
He values his role as Under-21s skipper highly, and is particularly enjoying learning from Ashley Cole and Joleon Lescott, who are on Lee Carsley’s coaching staff.
Guehi is also one of the many modern England players who have dual or more nationality, having been born in Ivorian economic capital Abidjan. He speaks French at home with his family.
No doubt the country of his birth would be keen for him to represent them too and, coincidentally, the Ivory Coast play England at Wembley next month.
That, coupled with Guehi’s hot form, may be enough to earn a call-up soon as Southgate sees him as part of England’s future.
But as his club boss Patrick Vieira said: “His name being mentioned (for England) means he has made a good start.
“But it is about what he will do in the next couple of weeks, months and years.”
Guehi has been relentless in his pursuit of what he wants from the moment he could kick a ball so that is unlikely to change now.
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