Marc Guehi has been one of the most coveted centre-backs in the Premier League for the last three years, but Crystal Palace have always managed to resist offers for their captain when the top sides came calling. They were rewarded for their stubbornness when Guehi led them to the FA Cup final and then their first-ever major trophy after their heroic win over Manchester City back in May.
Guehi ascended the Wembley steps again on Sunday to lift the Community Shield after another shock Palace win over a giant of English football as the Eagles edged out Liverpool on penalties. But just moments later, it became apparent that could be Guehi’s final act as an Eagle.
Liverpool have already had a couple of bids for Guehi knocked back, but Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted his side would eventually have to give in and accept one to prevent the England international entering the final year of his contract and leaving for free: "We’d have to do that, of course. For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it’s a problem for us unfortunately."
Parish’s words are likely to persuade Liverpool to return to the negotiating table, but they should also alert other clubs and remind them that one of the best defenders in England, if not Europe, is finally on the market. And the club that should be paying the most attention is Manchester City.
Marc Guehi has been one of the most coveted centre-backs in the Premier League for the last three years, but Crystal Palace have always managed to resist offers for their captain when the top sides came calling. They were rewarded for their stubbornness when Guehi led them to the FA Cup final and then their first-ever major trophy after their heroic win over Manchester City back in May.
Guehi ascended the Wembley steps again on Sunday to lift the Community Shield after another shock Palace win over a giant of English football as the Eagles edged out Liverpool on penalties. But just moments later, it became apparent that could be Guehi’s final act as an Eagle.
Liverpool have already had a couple of bids for Guehi knocked back, but Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted his side would eventually have to give in and accept one to prevent the England international entering the final year of his contract and leaving for free: “We’d have to do that, of course. For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it’s a problem for us unfortunately.”
Parish’s words are likely to persuade Liverpool to return to the negotiating table, but they should also alert other clubs and remind them that one of the best defenders in England, if not Europe, is finally on the market. And the club that should be paying the most attention is Manchester City.
City have bought five players this summer, but none of them really address their biggest problem of last season: their terrible defence. Yes, Rayan Ait-Nouri is a left-back, but he is a highly attacking one and the main impact of his arrival will be going forward rather than tidying things up at the back.
Last term, City shipped 44 goals in the Premier League, their highest amount since 2009-10 – the last time they failed to qualify for the Champions League. Their leaky defence not only played a big part in them finishing third and nervously looking over their shoulder at the other teams chasing a top-five finish, it was integral to their failure in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s side conceded 14 goals in their eight league phase matches, including three times in the space of 15 minutes against Feyenoord and four times in the second half against Paris Saint-Germain. They were then beaten 3-2 and 3-1 by Real Madrid as they were knocked out of the competition at the earliest stage since 2012-13 while conceding an average of two goals per game.
City did invest a combined £63 million ($84m) in centre-backs Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in January, but neither signing has gone particularly well. Reis was hauled off at half-time of his debut against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round and only played one more match thereafter, the fifth-round tie against Plymouth Argyle. He made one subsequent appearance at the Club World Cup but has since been loaned out to Girona.
Khusanov, meanwhile, endured a very shaky debut against Chelsea, and although he showed some improvements in his next few games, he was completely discarded by Guardiola for the final two months of the season. Both Khusanov and Reis were long-term projects who will not help City make the improvements they need in order to compete for the title this season or go deep in the Champions League.
Guehi, however, is a ready-made Premier League defender and England regular, and his contract situation means he will not prove much pricier than the two youngsters. Liverpool’s last bid of £40m ($53.5m) was batted away by Palace, but £45m ($60m) is expected to be enough to secure his move to Anfield. And City would be mad not to try and hijack the move and bring him to the Etihad instead.
Guehi is the type of defender Guardiola loves. He is adept in bringing the ball out from the back and at finding attacking team-mates with his long-range passes. He also has outstanding positional awareness, meaning he rarely has to resort to last-ditch tackles. He is more Paolo Maldini than Sergio Ramos, you might say.
But when needed, Guehi does have the recovery pace to sprint back and sweep up loose balls, such as when he coolly snuffed out an opportunity for Mohamed Salah in the Community Shield. He also prevented Jeremie Frimpong from making more of a run down the flank thanks to some clever shepherding.
One might say that City are already well stocked with central defenders and do not need to spend more money on Guehi. Even after letting Reis go to Girona, Guardiola has six centre-backs – Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Khusanov – at his disposal. And yet only Dias and Gvardiol can truly be relied upon.
Stones only made six Premier League starts last season as, for the second consecutive campaign, he was riddled by injury which left him to deal with several “dark days”. Ake, meanwhile, started only eight times in the league, enduring five periods of absence which culminated in him undergoing surgery on his foot.
The pair’s fitness struggles tested Guardiola’s patience, who said in April: “Nathan Ake and John Stones have been injured all season. I’ve said to the club the most important thing is which players are reliable for the future. You cannot perform if you’re not reliable, if you are injured.”
For his part, Akanji had three spells out, including when he missed two months between February and April with a muscle problem. Indeed, City were left so short in defence at times last season that they had to call upon Jahmai Simpson-Pusey from the academy.
Guardiola did stumble upon a winning formula towards the end of the season in Dias and Gvardiol, the latter switching back to his natural position of centre-back when Nico O’Reilly broke into the team at left-back. Ait-Nouri’s arrival suggests that Guardiola sees the Croatian and the Portuguese as his long-term central pairing, but if one of those players gets injured then he leaves himself vulnerable to playing either someone who cannot be relied upon to stay fit in Ake, Stones or Akanji, or someone with very little Premier League experience in Khusanov.
Signing Guehi, though, would make City far more secure and ensure they are protected when they inevitably pick up injuries. They will need a more robust defence, too, with Rodri still not fully fit after picking up an injury at the Club World Cup while Mateo Kovacic is also out until late September at the earliest after undergoing surgery on his Achilles tendon.
Having Guehi around would also allow Guardiola to deploy Gvardiol as a left-back for added security in case Ait-Nouri makes City too buccaneering and vulnerable on the break.
But City do not only need to sign Guehi to make them stronger; they need to act to stop Liverpool becoming an unstoppable force. The champions finished 13 points ahead of City even after coasting in their final few games, and yet they have been ruthless in the transfer market, acting like they want to have a stranglehold on the Premier League crown for many years to come.
Arne Slot’s side beat City to the signature of Florian Wirtz and then added Hugo Ekitike to their ranks. Alexander Isak is also being touted to join the Reds and complete an already terrifying attack which just so happens to also contain last year’s Player of the Season in Mohamed Salah. They have also strengthened in both full-back positions with the smart buys of Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
The only area where they look vulnerable is at centre-back, with Palace having exposed them on Sunday after AC Milan’s Rafael Leao ran them ragged earlier in pre-season. If Liverpool land Guehi, though, it is very hard to envisage them not finishing top again.
The message, therefore, is clear: City need to hijack Liverpool’s expected deal with Palace and get Guehi on the first train from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly. Their best defence against Liverpool’s bid for English football’s domination is to sign the nation’s best defender before their biggest rivals do.
