Man City Confident of Landing Guehi This Month as Palace Open Door

Marc Guehi's summer as a free agent is far from guaranteed, with Manchester City now firmly in the mix to prise the Crystal Palace captain away this month—a scenario that would leave Liverpool and Arsenal watching from the sidelines.

The centre-back has attracted serious interest from multiple quarters over recent months, particularly given his impending availability on a free transfer. Liverpool came closest to landing him last summer, agreeing a £35m fee with Palace, only for the deal to collapse on deadline day when the Eagles couldn't line up a replacement in time.

Now City have thrown their hat into the ring, and transfer guru Fabrizio Romano suggests the champions are bullish about their chances of getting business done with Palace. The club's internal assessment is that a club-to-club agreement should prove straightforward—Palace aren't desperate to move him, but they're not averse to banking some cash for a player heading towards the exit anyway.

"It should not be a problem to reach a club-to-club agreement with Palace," Romano explained. "Palace are open to finding a solution in January for Guehi. Obviously, they would also be happy to keep the player with them, and they are not desperate to sell Guehi. But if a good proposal arrives to make some profit, some money for the player in January, being out of contract and not extending it ahead of the summer transfer window, would be good and smart for Palace."

The real obstacle isn't Palace—it's Guehi himself. The 24-year-old England international holds all the cards as a prospective free agent and is in no rush to decide his future. Arsenal remain keen, with Mikel Arteta a genuine admirer, though the Gunners have plenty of defensive options already. Liverpool haven't gone away either, their failed summer pursuit merely postponed rather than abandoned. Bayern Munich are also sniffing around, though their interest hinges on summer departures rather than immediate action.

Gianluca Di Marzio reckons if City move decisively, Guehi will follow. "If Man City says they want him, he will go," the Italian journalist suggested. City's track record of getting their targets certainly supports that theory.

What makes this a potential masterstroke for City is the timing. With defensive issues demanding urgent attention, they're willing to strike now rather than wait until summer. For Guehi, the choice boils down to immediate security with the Premier League champions or holding out for a lucrative free agent deal elsewhere come summer. Given City's resources and his family's input on such a career-defining decision, this one's far from over.