Image source: bbc.com
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner admits the club would sell captain Marc Guehi this month if his asking price is met, with Manchester City emerging as contenders for the England defender who is out of contract in the summer and can leave for nothing.
Glasner Admits Palace Would Sell Guehi to Manchester City for Right Price This Month
The England defender is out of contract in the summer and Manchester City have emerged as contenders to sign him during the January transfer window. Palace blocked a proposed £35 million move to Liverpool last summer but risk losing the 25-year-old for nothing at the end of the season. City’s interest in Guehi has progressed following injuries to defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias during Sunday’s draw against Chelsea.
Glasner acknowledged the financial reality facing Crystal Palace regarding their captain’s situation. “I’m not naive,” said Glasner, as reported by the Athletic and the Times. “If a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.” The Austrian manager emphasized that while sporting considerations favour keeping Guehi, financial factors could ultimately determine the outcome of any potential transfer.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are among the European clubs to have shown an interest in signing Guehi on a free transfer, and he can sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club from this month. Glasner explained the club’s position regarding the competing priorities of sporting success and financial necessity in any transfer decision.
“If you’re just valuing sports, everyone in the club will say Marc has to stay,” Glasner added. “The chairman will tell you the same. But it’s not one-dimensional. If you see the financial situation, it’s very important. If somebody comes, there will be a moment when the club says ‘now the financial issue is more important than the sports issue’. There will be a threshold where the club has to say it will happen – as long as Marc says ‘I want to leave’, because the final decision is always with the player.”
Guehi helped Palace finish 12th last season and win the FA Cup to qualify for Europe for the first time in the club’s history. The Eagles then won the Community Shield in August, beating Premier League champions Liverpool on penalties, and are 14th in the table and through to the knockout phase play-offs in the Uefa Conference League. Glasner revealed that the chairman rejected many offers in the summer because the club wanted to play a successful season, but acknowledged that the threshold for accepting offers may have changed since then.
