Newcastle United want to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA)
Newcastle United want to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi
(Image: Bradley Collyer/PA)
MARC GUEHI is Newcastle United’s main early-summer transfer target, with the Magpies growing increasingly confident they can finally land the England international.
Newcastle made a number of attempts to sign Guehi last summer, only for Crystal Palace to reject everything the Magpies put on the table. A final offer of around £65m was turned down last August, forcing Newcastle to call off negotiations.
However, the club’s need for a new central defender has not diminished in the last nine months, indeed if anything, it has become even more acute. Lloyd Kelly left to join Juventus in January on an initial loan deal that will become permanent this summer, and while Newcastle have agreed contract extensions with Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Jamaal Lascelles in the last 12 months, the acquisition of a new right-sided central defender is a key priority this summer.
Guehi remains a major target, with the 24-year-old’s contractual situation increasing hopes that a deal can finally be agreed ahead of the start of next season.
Guehi will enter the final 12 months of his current deal next month, and while the Crystal Palace hierarchy have made repeated attempts to try to tie the defender down to a new contract, their discussions have so far proved unsuccessful.
As a result, if Guehi continues to refuse to sign a new deal, Palace will be under huge financial pressure to sell this summer while his value remains reasonably high. By the start of next year, the centre-half would be able to discuss terms with overseas clubs over a free transfer if he had not signed new terms at Selhurst Park.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner has insisted his club will not sell “all of their star players” after qualifying for the Europa League, but tellingly, he refused to make specific commitments over individuals. While there is likely to be interest in the likes of Dean Henderson, Adam Wharton and Eberechi Eze, Guehi’s contractual position makes him by far the most vulnerable of Palace’s leading lights.
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Newcastle are hoping to make early progress in the transfer market this summer, with the window set to open briefly at the start of next month to tie in with the build-up to the Club World Cup in the United States. It will then shut for a short period before reopening again in the middle of June.
The Magpies hierarchy are adamant that the forthcoming departure of sporting director Paul Mitchell will not adversely affect their transfer work, and the club’s interest in Guehi predates Mitchell’s arrival last summer.
Chelsea and Tottenham have also been linked with possible moves for Guehi, but the Ivory Coast-born Londoner is well aware of Newcastle’s long-standing desire to take him to Tyneside and is understood to have been willing to move to the North-East had a deal been agreed a year ago.
Newcastle will be a strong negotiating position given that they can offer both Champions League football and the realistic prospect of Guehi becoming a guaranteed starter come the start of next season. With their PSR position having improved significantly from the last couple of summers, Newcastle are also confident they can offer a financial package that would match anything put on the table by any of their Premier League rivals.
Guehi was asked about his future in the wake of Crystal Palace’s FA Cup win earlier this month, and said: “The most important thing is always doing the best I can for this football club. I come in every day, and I try to be the same. I try to work hard.
“This football club has given me a lot and I'm still under contract at this football club, so my focus is always at this football club. The most important thing is just doing the best I can and seeing what the future holds.”