England defender Marc Guehi has attracted interest from several top European clubs, with Arsenal among those watching the Crystal Palace captain
John Cross
14:38, 08 Jan 2026Updated 14:39, 08 Jan 2026
Marc Guehi could leave Crystal Palace this month
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Marc Guehi could leave Crystal Palace this month
Arsenal are set to join the race to sign England and Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi.
Manchester City have emerged as strong contenders to secure the Eagles' captain's signature after making significant strides to finalise the deal this month. However, Arsenal are now among the clubs showing genuine interest in the 25-year-old, who will be a free agent come summer, alongside Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
It's yet to be seen whether Arsenal will place a bid or wait until the summer when Guehi's contract ends. The Gunners showed interest in Guehi last summer but ultimately chose to pursue other options, signing Spanish prospect Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia and Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen.
Nonetheless, Arsenal remain keen admirers of Guehi, and should he choose to see out the remaining six months of his contract at Palace before leaving on a free transfer, there will be no shortage of interest from Europe's top clubs.
City will need to make a substantial offer to convince Palace to sell this month, despite Guehi's contract nearing its end. Last summer, Liverpool had a £35m plus £5m in add-ons bid accepted, but failed to finalise the deal by the transfer deadline day, reports the Mirror.
Palace are aware that they could command a similar fee in January, given City's keen interest following injuries to key defenders Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and John Stones. Palace will need to consider the potential benefits of retaining Guehi, as they remain in European competition, have an FA Cup campaign ahead, and harbour ambitions of securing a European spot.
This could lead them to demand around £40m, testing City's determination. Any club looking to strike a deal now would be aware that Guehi could secure a larger contract in the summer as a free agent.
City would need to offer substantial wages and a hefty transfer fee, putting them in a favourable position, but other clubs are keeping a close eye on the potential for a deal either now or in the future.
There is ongoing uncertainty about Pep Guardiola's long-term future at City, and Enzo Maresca - who has been suggested as a possible successor - wanted Chelsea to make a move to re-sign Guehi during his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool remain interested, while Bayern Munich's interest is notably strong, with manager Vincent Kompany being a big fan. Harry Kane would also push hard to bring his England teammate to Germany.
Arsenal might view Guehi as a no-brainer on a free transfer in the summer due to his versatility, despite already boasting one of the Premier League's best defensive partnerships in William Saliba and Gabriel.
However, Arsenal demonstrated their market ambition last summer under the guidance of sporting director Andrea Berta, seeking to foster robust competition across all areas of the squad. The prospect of signing arguably England's top defender on a free transfer would be an opportunity too good for the Gunners to pass up.
"Honestly I don't know what will happen," said Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner when asked about Guehi this week. "If you're just valuing sports, everyone in the club will say Marc has to stay. The chairman will tell you the same. But it's not one-dimensional.
"Nothing in life is one-dimensional. So if you see the financial situation, it's very important. Everybody wants him to play for Crystal Palace, sign a new contract and stay here forever.
"That's what everybody will tell you. On the other side, there's the situation that the contract ends in 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. 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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