Newcastle United cooled their interest in Marc Guehi recently but a significant is unfolding at Crystal Palace.
Newcastle United and Liverpool will be watching eagerly as Crystal Palace face a nail-biting wait over their Europa League status.
Winning the FA Cup booked the Eagles a European spot for the first time in the club’s history. However, a messy off-field wrangle has their dreams hanging by a thread.
John Textor - Palace’s majority shareholder - also owns 77 per cent of Ligue 1 outfit Lyon. Both clubs qualified for the Europa League - with UEFA stating “no individual or legal entity can have control or decisive influence over more than one club participating in the same UEFA competition”.
Crystal Palace’s hour of desperation
A desperate attempt to solve the situation has resulted in Textor agreeing to sell his Palace shares to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. The billionaire has also resigned from the Lyon board - with the Eagles arguing he holds no influence over the club.
To add a further spanner in the works, Lyon have not been relegated to Ligue 2 due to their dire financial situation. A successful appeal means the French side will retain their Europa League status.
UEFA are yet to decide the next step in what has become a convoluted and frustrating process for Palace fans. A big fear is that bitter rivals Brighton could take a European spot at their expense should the ruling go against them.
Newcastle United and Liverpool watch on
Being kicked out of the Europa League would hand Premier League suitors a huge boost in any attempt to sign Marc Guehi. Newcastle United infamously failed to snatch the England international last summer.
Liverpool are understood to be interested as they undergo a mini rebuild under Arne Slot. It is understood that the Magpies maintain an arm’s length interest in Guehi despite ranking him as the No.1 transfer target last summer.
If he becomes available, expect Newcastle to enquire, with Palace unable to demand the “superstar money” chairman Steve Parish wanted 12 months ago. Guehi has entered the final year of his contract and sources have suggested he may choose to leave for nothing next summer.
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John Textor feared worst after FA Cup win
Textor has admitted that he could not celebrate the FA Cup triumph properly given the ensuing Europa League drama. He told talkSPORT: “‘Oh ***’, is what I thought. I was very happy, but I felt the gravity of it. And I was concerned on the same day holding the cup next to the Prince (William).
"It was a great, great moment. And I couldn’t have been happier, I couldn't have been happier for the fans, but I was worried about what was coming there."
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