The 25-year-old, who led Crystal Palace to their second trophy in three months with victory over Liverpool in the Community Shield on Sunday, is in the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park – leaving the club at serious risk of losing the centre-back on a free transfer next summer.
Guehi joined Palace from Chelsea in 2021, during Patrick Vieira’s first season in charge, for a fee in the region of £20 million.
Since then, Guehi has enjoyed an exponential rise, making 156 appearances, establishing himself as England’s starting centre-back at the 2024 European Championship – where he was named in the team of the tournament – and emerging as one of Europe’s most sought-after defenders.
Over the past year, Palace have rejected two bids, from Tottenham and Newcastle, both worth around £70 million.
But with Guehi now in the final year of his deal and showing no indication of signing an extension, the club face limited options.
The worst-case scenario would be losing him on a free next summer. While Palace would have benefited from five seasons of a world-class defender, it would mark a significant failure of their buy-develop-sell model, with his time at the club represented by a £20 million loss.
Following Sunday’s win at Wembley, Parish conceded that if a suitable offer arrives in the final three weeks of the transfer window, Palace will have to sell.
“Yes,” Parish said when asked if he would sell Guehi if a suitable offer arrived. “Of course, for players of that calibre to leave on a free, it is a problem for a football club.
“There is no doubt about it, unfortunately. Last summer, Joachim \[Andersen\] went, and we couldn’t afford to lose both of them.
“We then had another bid in January, but that was a difficult situation as well. We will just have to see what happens. It needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind.
_(Image: Keith Gillard)_ “The problem in football is that you get to this level where you are fantastic with a lot of mature players in their prime, and you don’t want to be not as good, so then you are tempted to hang onto them.
“That’s your safety net, you’ll be good with those boys and if you can add some around them.
“But in the end, people trade players – it is what football clubs do. If you don’t care about tomorrow and put it all off, then we are a fantastic team.
“If we had four more players, I don’t know what we could achieve. Unfortunately, it is not always as simple as that.
“We have got a lot of outgoings this year because we are paying a lot of transfer fees for players that we have already got.
“If you see the fees, they are just nuts. The money we are paying is crazy. We will have to see. We will do whatever we can.
“We won’t stop working. But as far as people being here or not being here, it depends.
“If it is the right decision for the football club and them – nobody can make anyone go – there will be some changes. But we have got to make smart ones."
Ahead of the Community Shield, Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner publicly called for more activity in the transfer market to ensure the club are ready to compete on four fronts this season.
Glasner suggested that at least two more players – one at each end of the pitch – are needed to improve the squad's cohesion as the FA Cup holders prepare for their first European campaign.
Palace are among the lowest spenders in the summer market, with backup goalkeeper, Walter Benítez, and left wing-back deputy, Borna Sosa, signed for a combined £3million.
With three weeks left in the window, Parish was reserved when quizzed on additions, pointing to the club’s budget constraints.
“Oliver is a very experienced manager. When he asks for things, it is better if you do them – but it doesn’t mean they’re easy to do.
“I admire Oliver so much. He just wants to win trophies. I don’t mind that he wants to do that, and someone at the football club should do that.
_(Image: Keith Gillard)_ “I have other things to worry about, and what people spend in the Premier League is crazy. The financial jeopardy.
“I have to look at everything else, but don’t think for a minute I want to do anything other than support them and do everything I can.
“At some points, you have to recycle your squad. Otherwise, you are just pushing off the problems. It is a really tough one.
“We will do everything we can in the next few weeks to give ourselves the best chance. I am aware we are in four competitions, I understand it’s not going to be easy.
“We might lose Ismaila \[Sarr\] to AFCON. We are trying to cope with those things. But at the end of the day, the money we have is not infinite."
### CAS Verdict
Crystal Palace are set to discover their European fate imminently, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) delivers its verdict on whether the South London club will be reinstated into the Europa League.
Palace had earned direct entry into the League Phase of the Europa League by winning the FA Cup, but were demoted to the Conference League last month after UEFA ruled that the club had breached multi-club ownership regulations.
The dispute centres on John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings, which owned a 43% stake in Crystal Palace alongside a controlling share in French side Lyon.
UEFA regulations prohibit any individual or entity from having control or decisive influence over more than one club in the same competition.
Lyon qualified for the Europa League after finishing sixth in Ligue 1 and were given precedence over Palace as they finished higher in their domestic league.
At their CAS hearing in Switzerland on Friday, Palace argued that Textor never held decisive influence at the club and stressed that he no longer has any involvement at Selhurst Park, having sold his stake to former US Ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson on July 24.
Ahead of today’s verdict, Parish said that the appeal had only reinforced the club’s sense of injustice.
“It’ll be good to put us behind us, but I don’t want that to come across as any kind of fatalism. I am determined to get the right outcome.
“If we don’t, we will have to look at the steps afterwards. I really don’t understand how we can’t be in the competition, even more so after Friday. It is up to the judges to decide, we trust them.”