Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has made it clear that Marc Guehi could be sold before the January transfer deadline if the right offer arrives, with Manchester City among the clubs monitoring the situation.
City are currently stretched at the back after injuries to key defenders Ruben Dias, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol. That situation forced Pep Guardiola to field an unfamiliar central pairing of Abdukodir Khusanov and Max Alleyne against Brighton, while Nathan Ake shifted to left-back to give Nico O’Reilly a break. Although the improvised setup coped reasonably well, City are still short of reliable defensive cover.
Guehi has emerged as a potential solution. The England international was close to joining Liverpool on deadline day last summer, but the move collapsed when Palace were unable to line up a replacement in time. Glasner later confirmed the defender is expected to leave Selhurst Park when his contract expires at the end of the season, which has alerted clubs across Europe.
While Guehi would be free to agree a pre-contract with an overseas side this month, any Premier League club looking to sign him now would need to pay a significant fee. Speaking after Palace kept a clean sheet against Aston Villa, Glasner admitted that a January exit remains possible.
He explained that had a sufficient bid been made previously, and had both club and player agreed, Guehi would already have moved on. Glasner added that every player has a price, particularly for a club like Palace, and that a substantial offer with only months left on Guehi’s deal would be difficult to ignore.
Despite that, the Palace coach stressed there is no immediate indication that Guehi wants to leave. He praised the defender’s attitude in training and matches and said supporters should not be overly concerned, while acknowledging that situations can change quickly in football.
Elsewhere, Manchester City are also expected to complete the signing of Bournemouth attacker Antoine Semenyo before their FA Cup third round tie against Exeter. The Ghana international scored a dramatic late winner as Bournemouth edged Tottenham 3-2 in midweek.