Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace for a fee believed to be around £20m, with the defender set to sign a five-and-a-half-year contract.
Arsenal had been linked with a move for Guehi in this window, along with Liverpool who of course tried to sign him at the last minute in the summer transfer window.
City, however, having lost their two starting centrebacks, have moved to ensure that they are the team to pull him away from Palace mid-season, even though Pep Guardiola said that Ruben Dias will be back soon.
David Ornstein on Bluesky wrote, “Man City in process of finalising deal to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace. £20m + bonuses & sell-on %. 5.5yr contract. #MCFC intensified pursuit after Gvardiol/Dias injuries so #CPFC had to accept or lose 25yo as free agent in summer.”
Arsenal had been linked with a move for Guehi this month, along with Liverpool, who tried to sign him late in the summer window, and Bayern Munich.
David Ornstein reported for The Athletic last week that Arsenal retained a long-standing interest in the centre-back, but more as a potential summer signing, with the club having discussed pursuing the transfer and making contact with the player’s representatives.
It would be understandable that Guehi took one look at William Saliba and Gabriel already in place and determined that Arsenal was not the place for regular football. In addition, City were reportedly ready to match any offer the player would get in the summer as well as offering a fee now, because they can do that sort of stuff.
In what has been a bad day for Palace, manager Oliver Glasner also confirmed that he would leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.