Marc Guehi will miss the League Cup final if Manchester City make it to the Wembley showpiece over Newcastle United, and he’s also ineligible for tomorrow’s semi-final second leg.
Following injuries to their first-choice centre-backs, Manchester City dipped into the transfer market to sign Marc Guehi in January. The defender has gone straight into the team in the Premier League, but he’s faced eligibility issues in the other competitions.
In the Champions League, Guehi couldn’t be added to City’s squad until after the League Phase, so he missed their final two games against Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray. They’re now free to add him in for the knockout stages.
But before that, as City turn their attentions to the second leg of their League Cup semi-final, Guehi will be unavailable once again.
Manchester Evening News report that despite the cup-tied rules being changed this season, there’s a time restriction that means players could only become eligible for a new club before the first leg of the semi-final.
As Guehi only joined City afterwards, he’s ineligible for both Wednesday’s semi-final, and also for a potential final at Wembley.
The margins that Guehi has missed out by will be frustrating to the player and his new club. He joined City on January 19th, with City’s semi-final first leg against Newcastle United taking place on January 13th.
If he moved just one week earlier, Guehi would have been eligible for both Wednesday’s match and a potential final.
On the other hand, it does seem fair that Guehi misses out. The centre-back already had his chance in the League Cup, starting in wins over Millwall and Liverpool, before starting and scoring in Crystal Palace’s quarter-final defeat to Arsenal.
If Arsenal do make it to the final, it does seem odd that they might have had to eliminate Guehi for the second time in the same season.