Manchester City are closing in on signing Marc Guéhi from Crystal Palace. The centre-back’s contract expires at the end of the season and Palace have accepted an offer of £20m.
Palace’s manager, Oliver Glasner, said on Friday that the deal was in its final stages, on a day when he also revealed he would be leaving the club in the summer. Guéhi, he said, would not be involved in Palace’s game at Sunderland on Saturday. “I can’t confirm a club, because it’s still not done, but it’s in the final stages,” Glasner said. “The result is that Marc doesn’t play tomorrow for us.”
The England international almost joined Liverpool in the summer before Palace pulled out of the deal. Personal terms are not thought to be an issue for Guéhi, who has said he would not extend his Palace deal.
City have injuries in central defence. Rúben Dias is out with a hamstring injury, Josko Gvardiol has a tibial fracture and John Stones, who is unlikely to have his contract renewed in the summer, is out with a thigh problem. Pep Guardiola was forced to recall the 20-year-old Max Alleyne from a loan at Watford to help alleviate the shortage.
Guéhi’s former club Chelsea will be due 20% of any fee, as part of the package that took him to Palace in 2021. Barcelona have held talks over signing Guéhi and Bayern Munich expressed interest in getting him on a free but they have been usurped by City.
Guéhi is in line to be City’s second signing of the window after Antoine Semenyo joined from Bournemouth for an initial £62.5m.
City have drawn their past three Premier League matches and Erling Haaland has not scored from open play since 20 December to leave them six points behind Arsenal, the leaders, going into Saturday’s Manchester derby. Guardiola is unhappy with the officiating around Haaland, whom he feels needs more protection.
“God bless that we have Erling in our team right now and all of the season – we are fortunate to have him and without him we would not be in the position we are in now,” Guardiola said. “He brings a lot and is getting better at many, many things. There are a lot of games and it is an incredible period for games. Every three days there is a match, recovery is less with travel, tough conditions, central defenders tough. It is difficult. But he’ll be back.”
He then said sarcastically: “He is the only striker in the world that makes more fouls than defenders do on him. That is his biggest attribute. That is really good. He is the only striker in my life that he makes more fouls to defenders than defenders to him. I’ve never seen this. At the beginning of the season the referee said it would be the opposite. But it is the opposite of that.”
