The first coach of England centre back Marc Guehi has described how he plucked the player from the sidelines at a south-east London primary school to help him develop into the Three Lions’ “iceman”.
Steve Owen, 65, was a teacher at Marvels Lane primary in Lewisham when he saw Guehi, then five, peering longingly through a fence at older boys playing, desperate to join.
Mr Owen, a coach at non-league side Cray Wanderers who also scouts for Chelsea, said: “He would be looking through the fence and he was not supposed to be allowed to play with the older boys as he was in the younger years.
“But I let him through because he looked so desperate to play and he was immediately brilliant. He could hold his own and more.”
Guehi, 23, who was born in Ivory Coast but moved with his family to Lewisham aged one, started playing for Cray Wanderers under-fives in Bromley where he took up a left sided central defensive position, where he still plays.
Chelsea picked him up aged just seven and he came through their youth system after Mr Owen convinced them he could be a top player.
He spent two seasons on loan at Swansea before he joined Crystal Palace in July 2021 for £18 million, where he has become a first team regular and has broken into the England squad.
Guehi is expected to start England’s first game against Serbia on Sunday in what would be his 12th cap for the national side.
Mr Owen said: “He is a very quiet guy. He just gets on with it, nothing puts him off his game. He is consistent and confident on the field. Under pressure he is like an iceman, cool as a cucumber.
“When he went on to play for Chelsea he scored this penalty without a run up. He just rolled it into the net. No fuss, just great technique and attitude.”
He added: “Marc is the kind of character you need in these big games. At Cray he would turn up early for every game and training session. He is from a wonderful family.
“When Cray Wanderers went to Crystal Palace for a special training day just days before he flew to Germany with the team he looked out the boys and made sure he had his picture taken with them. Honestly, you could not get a more humble nice guy.
Sam Wright, chief executive of Cray, told the Evening Standard: “It is a real inspiration for all of us to see Marc progress to the full England squad.”
