Five European giants are said to be monitoring Marc Guehi’s situation after his £35million deadline day move to Liverpool collapsed, and are reportedly keen to make a bid next summer.
The Crystal Palace captain wanted to leave the club to join Liverpool, and came extremely close to doing so on Monday’s deadline day when he agreed personal terms, underwent a medical and saw a Reds bid accepted.
Palace had seemingly assumed they were set to sign a replacement in the final hours of the transfer window, with Brazil defender Igor Julio lined up for a season-long loan switch from rivals Brighton.
When that was communicated to Liverpool, the process of completing the move began, but Arne Slot’s side still had to wait for the green light from Palace, who wanted a left-sided centre back literally through the door before giving that.
Igor was set to join Palace but instead went to West Ham. That left Oliver Glasner’s side high and dry, and they had no issues pulling the plug.
Now, Guehi remains at Palace – but for how long is to be seen. He is unlikely to sign a new contract, meaning he could leave for even cheaper in January or for free next summer, and five sides are reportedly looking to make a move.
Five top European sides are looking to capitalise on Marc Guehi’s collapsed £35million move to Liverpool next summer
Guehi was set to join Arne Slot’s side on deadline day but Crystal Palace pulled the plug on the deal at the 11th hour
According to The Mirror, Bayern Munich could make a move for the England defender as they look to boost their back line. The have seemingly joined both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the race.
Inter Milan and Juventus in Italy are also said to be weighing up their options, but are aware that a big contract would be needed considering no transfer fee would be involved.
The five sides aforementioned have a big advantage over Liverpool, too. With Guehi’s deal up in the summer, he can negotiate a pre-contract agreement in January – but only with sides abroad.
This means Liverpool will not be able to make any move until next summer, essentially making Arne Slot’s side powerless in the winter when other sides may seek to secure an agreement.
Though Guehi wanted the move to Liverpool, he will remain professional at Palace but must now turn attentions to England duty with Thomas Tuchel’s side ahead of their games over the next fortnight.
He showed no sign of being disappointed with the collapse of the move to Liverpool when he arrived at camp, and will hope to be involved when his national side take on Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner made clear over the weekend that he did not want to lose Guehi without a replacement lined up, stressing the defender was ‘necessary’ to the club’s hopes of enjoying a successful season.
‘We had a meeting in March where we talked about the situation and we had an agreement that we could sell Marc if we had the right replacement in,’ Glasner explained. ‘We wanted to have this replacement at the beginning of pre-season to be independent.
Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid are thought to be one of the sides interested in signing Guehi soon
The defender has been all smiles on England duty despite uncertainty around his future
‘That was on July 9 when the season started. It’s August 31 and there is no replacement in the building so it’s clear one part of the agreement is not fulfilled. That means we can’t sell Marc. It’s not a wish or gift for Oliver Glasner, it’s necessary for playing a successful season.’
Guehi, who has 23 England caps, scored in Palace’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday, but declined to address the transfer speculation afterwards. ‘All I know is when you score goals like that it is always down to team performance,’ he said.
The collapse came amid a frantic close to the window that still saw Liverpool complete a British-record £125m deal for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, while elsewhere Arsenal landed Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie and Tottenham confirmed the shock signing of Randal Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
