Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi attracting interest from Liverpool and Manchester United

Crystal Palace have slapped a £50m price tag on Marc Guehi amid interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.

Marc Guehi, 23, has been solid for Crystal Palace since signing in a £18 million deal from Chelsea in the summer of 2021, racking up over 100 appearances. The central defender has performed consistently to catch the eyes of England manager Gareth Southgate, earning nine caps for the nation thus far. Having been ruled out for up to eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery, he will be hoping to heal from injury in time to make it into the squad for the Euro 2024 this summer.

The 23-year-old has reportedly been coveted by top Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester United, and Crystal Palace showing an early interest in central defenders in European leagues are a sign that their skipper is likely to leave Selhurst Park in the summer. North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with an interest in Guehi, who will have just two years remaining on his contract in June. Thus, the upcoming summer transfer window will be the Eagles’ best opportunity to sell their star defender for a substantial fee.

Liverpool and Manchester United keeping tabs on Marc Guehi

Liverpool concentrated on revamping their midfield unit last summer and saw four new players come in, so they may plan to bolster their ageing defence in the next transfer window under a new manager.

Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip are well into their 30s, with the latter ruled out for the rest of the season with a serious injury and may have played his last game in a Liverpool shirt. Ibrahima Konate has had injury issues in the last two seasons, while Jarrell Quansah is still in the developmental phase of his career.

Marc Guehi is experienced enough to make an immediate impact at Anfield. He will add solidity and physicality to the Reds’ defence whilst being an ideal long-term replacement for Matip.

As for Manchester United, they have been all over the place defensively since the start of the season. With the futures of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in doubt, Jonny Evans clearly past his prime and Raphael Varane coming to the end of his contract, the club under the INEOS regime need to make wholesale changes at the back this summer.

Guehi could be a good player to build around in that department. He has earned decent experience in the English top flight and could be the ideal partner for Lisandro Martinez in central defence. The nine-cap England international needs time and proper coaching to fulfil his potential, and he could do that under the tutelage of Erik ten Hag.

There is no doubt that Guehi has the mixture of technical skills and physical attributes to play for a top Premier League club, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up amid links with Liverpool and Man United.