Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has admitted the club would be willing to sell captain Marc Guehi during the January transfer window if their valuation is met, Afrosport reports.
The England defender is out of contract in the summer, leaving Palace at risk of losing him for nothing. Manchester City have emerged as leading contenders to sign the 25-year-old Ivory Coast-born player this month, with their interest accelerating after injuries to Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias in Sunday’s draw with Chelsea.
Glasner made clear he is realistic about the situation, saying: “I am not naive. If a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.”
Palace rejected a £35m bid from Liverpool last summer, prioritising continuity and success on the pitch, but Glasner conceded that stance cannot always be maintained.
“If you are just valuing sports, everyone in the club will say Marc has to stay,” he stated , adding that the chairman shares that view. However, he stressed that the decision goes beyond football alone: “It is not one-dimensional. If you see the financial situation, it is very important.”
Glasner explained that there is a tipping point at which the club must act. “If somebody comes, there will be a moment when the club says ‘now the financial issue is more important than the sports issue’,” he said. Any move, though, would depend on the player’s wishes. “There will be a threshold where the club has to say it will happen, as long as Marc says ‘I want to leave’, because the final decision is always with the player.”
Interest in Guehi is not limited to the Premier League. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are among several European giants monitoring his situation, and from this month he is eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club.
Guehi has been a central figure in Palace’s recent success. He captained the side to a 12th-place Premier League finish last season and played a key role in their historic FA Cup triumph, which secured European qualification for the first time.
Palace followed that up by winning the Community Shield against Liverpool and are currently 14th in the league, having also reached the Conference League knockout play-offs.
