Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish talks about the future of Liverpool-linked Marc Guehi, who is into the final year of his deal at Selhurst Park
Crystal Palace co-owner and chairman Steve Parish speaking into a microphone on stage at Selhurst Park during the club's FA Cup winners parad
Crystal Palace co-owner and chairman Steve Parish speaking into a microphone on stage at Selhurst Park during the club's FA Cup winners parad
(Image: PA)
Steve Parish admits the prospect of losing Liverpool target Marc Guehi on a free transfer is "problem" for Crystal Palace, with the chairman conceding the captain could move before the end of the transfer window.
England centre-back Guehi is inside the final 12 months of his deal at Selhurst Park and has admirers at Anfield, where Arne Slot has just three senior, recognised central defenders in his squad following the £35m sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.
Joe Gomez is currently sidelined with an Achilles issue, meaning the Premier League champions will begin the defence of their crown at home to Bournemouth on Friday with just skipper Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate fit for the game.
Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch have been labelled as potential problem solvers at centre-back should Van Dijk or Konate succumb to injury but the interest in Guehi could be significantly stepped up if Palace are ready to do business at a price point that Liverpool would deem fair.
Speaking after the Eagles beat Slot's Reds on penalties in Sunday's Community Shield, Palace chairman Parish accepted that Guehi may move this month rather than leave next summer as a free agent, with the Londoners unable to absorb the loss of an international defender for nothing as easily as other clubs in the top flight.
“Yes, of course, for players of that calibre to leave on a free, it is a problem for a football club,” Parish said. “There is no doubt about it, unfortunately. Joachim (Anderson) went (last summer to Fulham) 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.
“In the end, people trade players. That is what football clubs do. Of course, if you don’t care about tomorrow ever 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."
Parish added: "If you see the fees, they are just nuts. The money we are paying, 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 for them, there will be changes. But we have got to make smart ones.”