The future of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi will be one of the biggest stories of the summer and Arsenal have reportedly surged into the race.
Sources have informed TEAMtalk that the England international is one of Manchester United’s top summer targets as Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks to bring in a new centre-back.
Guehi’s former club Chelsea are also reportedly keen on a deal, while Crystal Palace are doing all they can to tie him down to a new contract and prevent his departure.
TEAMtalk understands that the Eagles will demand a minimum of £70m to part ways with the centre-back, who has enjoyed a solid start to Euro 2024 with England.
Guehi played the full 90 minutes in England’s 1-0 win over Serbia on Sunday and was one of Gareth Southgate’s standout performers.
As we exclusively revealed on Monday, Man Utd could offer right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka in a part-exchange deal in order to drive down Guehi’s price and tempt Oliver Glasner into a sale.
However, it now seems that Arsenal and Newcastle are poised to try and beat the Red Devil’s to Guehi ‘s signature.
Transfer battle for Marc Guehi ignites
According to CaughtOffside, both Arsenal and Newcastle are poised to make ‘opening bids’ for Guehi in the near future to get the ball rolling over a potential deal.
Both clubs ‘aren’t inclined’ to match Crystal Palace’s valuation at this stage, however, and will try and negotiate the price down in the coming weeks.
Mikel Arteta is more than happy with his current Arsenal centre-back partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, but wants more competition for the duo.
The Gunners have struggled when one of the two defenders have been unavailable and Guehi would be an excellent option to have.
As for Newcastle, they too are in need of more cover at the back after injuries to Sven Botman and Fabian Schar this season exposed their lack of depth.
The Magpies lost out to Chelsea in the race for Tosin Adarabioyo before securing the signing of Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer, but Eddie Howe is keen to bring in more than one new centre-back.
It will be interesting to see whether Man Utd, Arsenal or Newcastle make the first formal offer for Guehi this summer.
For now, the 23-year-old is fully focused on the Euros campaign with England but it’s thought he’d be keen to join a top club ahead of next season.
It’s worth noting, though, that his price tag could skyrocket even more if he performs well for the Three Lions.
