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Adam Wharton has conceded it's "pretty obvious" that Marc Guehi will depart Crystal Palace as he endorsed his Eagles colleague to feature for any club globally.
The England international witnessed a potential switch to Liverpool fall through at the final moment on transfer deadline day, though he remains on the Reds' radar with his Selhurst Park deal set to expire next summer.
However, Liverpool isn't the sole club keen on acquiring the center-back before he becomes one of the more prominent Bosman signings available when the campaign concludes. The Reds have similarly been connected with a potential move for Wharton in recent months as the midfielder continues to shine with Palace.
Yet the 21-year-old recently shared his thoughts on Guehi's situation while expressing hope his club and international colleague stays with the Eagles until the season's end.
"There's obviously so much speculation," he said on The Athletic FC Podcast. "I think it's pretty obvious. I think it came out that he wasn't going to sign a new deal. So yeah...
"I think, obviously, he's a top defender. You've seen it week in, week out in the Premier League. You've seen it at the Euros and after that for England.
"So I mean, he's so consistent. You see it in training. Well, I see it in training every day as well. So down to earth as well. He never gets carried away. And yeah, he could literally go to any club in the world, for me, and be starting comfortably.
"It's probably just where he goes. And when. If he goes in January or in the summer, who knows? I hope he stays until summer so we can have him for a bit longer. We'll have to see."
Meanwhile, Wharton confessed that the Palace changing room had anticipated Guehi's departure to Liverpool as he disclosed how the center-back responded following the collapse of his proposed transfer.
"People were probably shocked that he didn't go," he said. "Because it was all over, he was going, he was basically there. We expected him... I think it was after Villa. We pretty much thought he was gone after that, or I did at least.
"And then yeah, it ended up collapsing, and then it was just back to normal. But that's just the type of guy Marc is. He's not going to complain, and he won't show his frustrations. He just gets on with it and just shows the type of professional he is.
"If you looked at his performances, you couldn't tell that he'd just had a move taken away from him at the last second. That's just credit to him."
He continued: "No, I don't think he did (say his goodbyes). Well, he didn't say it to me! Maybe he knew he wasn't going! I hope so.
"No, he didn't say anything like that. Obviously, nothing was confirmed. It was kind of in the air. People were maybe talking about it, but not talking about it."
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