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The January transfer window has barely opened, but Liverpool’s hopes of signing their summer target may be in tatters. Manchester City are ramping up their pursuit of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi following a devastating injury crisis that has left Pep Guardiola desperately short at the back.
It’s been a chaotic few days at the Etihad Stadium. City suffered a double defensive blow during their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday, with both Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias forced off injured. The news quickly worsened – Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture requiring surgery and faces months on the sidelines, while Dias is set to miss four to six weeks with a hamstring injury.
As a result, BBC Sport reported on Monday that the Manchester club are seriously weighing up an immediate move rather than waiting for his contract to expire in summer. It is asserted City’s interest in Guehi has “progressed” following the injury crisis, and a January transfer “should not be discounted”
Of course, this is not good news for Liverpool and their hopes of landing the England international on a free transfer at the end of the season. And now Palace boss Oliver Glasner has admitted that Guehi will leave should City make a big enough offer this month:
“There’s the situation that the contract ends in the summer and if somebody is coming, there will be a moment when the club says: ‘Now the financial issue is more important than the sport issue,’ Glasner said as quoted by the Times.
“We have to do it and try to get the best. That’s why I’m always saying: ‘I don’t know.’ Because this is different. “There will be a threshold where the club has to say [sell] … If the player says: ‘I want to leave’ and the money is above the threshold, it will happen. I’m not so naive not to know that if a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.”
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