**Manchester City are advancing in their pursuit of Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi in the current transfer window, as per a new report.**
City are hunting defensive reinforcements in what remains of the January window in the wake of injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, with the former sidelined for another month with a hamstring injury and the latter set to be out till May.
The Blues have recalled academy graduate Max Alleyne from loan at Watford since their 1-1 draw with Chelsea – when Dias and Gvardiol went off with injury – and the 20-year-old defender has started in each of Manchester City’s games against Brighton, Exeter and Newcastle since.
However, executives at the Etihad Stadium, led by director of football Hugo Viana, have prioritised the addition of a centre-back to Pep Guardiola’s ranks in January as City vie for silverware on four fronts.
Crystal Palace star and England international Marc Guehi has emerged as Manchester City’s preferred signing in January, with the 25-year-old open to the move as he enters the final six months of his current deal at Selhurst Park.
[Fabrizio Romano](https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/2012114902274486517?s=20) has reported that Manchester City have made an ‘important contract proposal’ for Guehi in the last 12 hours and are proceeding in negotiations with the Eagles for the centre-half, who is also of interest to Liverpool and Arsenal.
There has developed a feeling in some quarters in recent weeks that Guehi prefers to stay at Crystal Palace until the end of the season, when he will be due a major signing-on bonus at his next club and have a wide range of choices for his new chapter.