Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi is reportedly willing to play out the final year of his contract in south London, assessing his options amid transfer interest from Liverpool and other clubs.
Palace face losing Guéhi as a free agent next year if they don’t find a buyer this summer, but the player’s own preferences could complicate matters.
According to The Guardian, Guéhi has no intention of signing a new contract with the Eagles but won’t allow himself to be rushed into a decision about his future.
Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are all thought to have interest in the England defender—Newcastle had multiple offers turned down last summer, although Palace are now in a weaker position given that there is only a year left on Guéhi’s contract.
Liverpool will be in need of a centre-back once Jarell Quansah’s proposed transfer to Bayer Leverkusen is complete, bringing in up to £35 million ($40.4 million).
However, it isn’t as simple as Liverpool pursuing a proven Premier League defender with a falling market value to plug that gap. With the World Cup on the horizon next summer, Guéhi is keen on ensuring that any decision on his future protects his regular playing time in 2025–26.
Moving to Liverpool this year could be seen as a risk, given that Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté is the clear and current centre-back partnership at Anfield. Whether Guéhi could move from Palace and dislodge either—Konaté is marginally more vulnerable—would be a gamble on his part.
Newcastle and Tottenham could likely offer Guéhi far greater assurances about being a starter, as it stands. But with Konaté’s Liverpool future also in doubt due to his contract expiring in 2026 and rumoured interest from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, a spot could open up, either this year or next year, if the Frenchman is sold or leaves as a free agent.
Once Quansah goes, it may be that Liverpool have to sign a different centre-back more accepting of a backup role, before possibly launching an approach for Guéhi if Konaté’s situation becomes clearer—also assuming that Newcastle or Spurs haven’t beaten them to the punch by then.
READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND GOSSIP
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Marc Guehi Reaches ‘Contract Decision’, Liverpool in Three-Way Transfer Battle.