Marc Guehi has left Crystal Palace for Manchester City on a contract that would keep him at the Etihad Stadium through the 2030-31 season.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner acknowledged last week that a move to an unnamed club was in its “final stages,” adding to a deflating day at Palace, as the announcement came shortly after Glasner said he would not be signing an new contract with the South London club.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that the deal is for approximately $27 million and that Palace will retain a sell-on clause.
Guehi is excited to get his move to a UEFA Champions League club.
“I am really happy and incredibly proud to be a Manchester City player,” Guehi said, via mancity.com. “This move feels like the culmination of all the hard work I have put into my career. I am now at the best club in England and part of an unbelievable squad of players. It feels good to be able to say that.
Pep Guardiola was happy to add the big man with Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias currently absent through injuries.
“He is a top central defender and is playing for the national team,” Guardiola said. “Thanks to the club for bringing him here. He can play right and left. I know how he wanted to choose us.”
Marc Guehi to Manchester City: What does it mean for title race, Crystal Palace?
Let’s start with Palace — they’ve had ages to plan for this as Guehi declined to sign a new deal with the club and his future was the main topic of conversation around the Selhurst Park faithful this summer.
They will surely have their primary and secondary options ready to replace the English star, and they now do get a transfer fee for the player instead of watching him walk for free in the summer.
As for City, their hand was forced by injuries to Gvardiol and Dias but this move makes a lot of sense given John Stones’ injury history, the youth of Abdukodir Khusanov and Max Alleyne, and the uneven play of Nathan Ake.
Guehi at 25 could slot into the City side for years, alongside Dias or Gvardiol. The side could easily play Gvardiol at left back again, something that could resemble the big success Riccardo Calafiori has had for Arsenal as a creative, imposing left-sided player.
The only question here, without knowing the transfer fee, is why Liverpool have sat on their hands rather than pay a fee. The Reds are in dire need of a notable center back with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate dominating the minutes and the club alive in so many competitions.
If it’s stubbornness over assuming they would get him for free in the summer, that’s short-sighted. They obviously wanted the player in the summer, and now are essentially letting him walk to a top-four rival.
