Man City move to beat Liverpool and European giants to Marc Guehi | Football

The battle to sign Crystal Palace Marc Guehi is fierce and Manchester City are looking to decisively win it this month.

The England centre-back is now into the final few months of his contract with the Eagles, which expires at the end of the season.

It seems extremely unlikely that Palace will convince the 25-year-old to stay and he has the footballing world at his feet as a result.

Guehi came extremely close to signing for Liverpool at the end of the summer transfer window, travelling to Merseyside only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug at the last minute as they could not secure a replacement.

The Reds remain very interested in signing the influential defender, but they are far from alone in coveting his signature.

A powerhouse international collection of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan would all like to tempt Guehi to join them.

Meanwhile, there is also interest from elsewhere in the Premier League, with Manchester City keen on snapping up the former Chelsea man.

The BBC report that the former Premier League champions are seriously considering a bid for Guehi during the January transfer window, hoping to persuade the Eagles to cash in on their captain while they can.

City had something of a nightmare at the back in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday, with both Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias suffering injuries.

They join John Stones in the treatment room and despite Pep Guardiola’s squad being built at extreme expense, the great manager now looks a bit short in defence.

Liverpool were on the verge of spending £35m on Guehi in the summer, but he would be available for much less in the final six months of his contract, if Palace feel it is a deal worth doing.

Guehi is able to sign a pre-agreement with a club in a foreign league now he is in the final six months of his deal.

If City or Liverpool want to secure his services, they would need to buy him during the January window, or hope to snap him up on a free transfer at the end of the season.

With Guehi set to be a starter for England at the World Cup this summer, he has an incredible set of options in front of him.

His decision will partly be down to the financial package on offer, but also consider which club will offer him the regular playing time he has become accustomed to at Selhurst Park.

Guehi was widely praised for how he dealt with the failed move to Liverpool, carrying on as normal for Crystal Palace despite coming so close to leaving.

Shortly after the collapse of the transfer, he was on England duty and Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel was impressed with the defender’s attitude.

‘Of course we had a chat with him,’ Tuchel said of Guehi in September. ‘He looks absolutely fine and impressive on the field. He has had a good couple of weeks behind him on the performance side.

‘He has continued like that in camp and he handles it [his transfer situation] with respect and with a brilliant attitude.’

Tuchel added: ‘He is the main driver of Crystal Palace’s success – the captain and the leader – and he played very impressively at the end of last season.’

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