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Marc Guehi has recently entered the final six months of his contract at Crystal Palace, and Arsenal are ready to lock horns with Europe's elite for the defender's signature
William Saliba or Gabriel Magalhaes could suddenly face an uncertain future at the Emirates Stadium if Arsenal sign Marc Guehi. The Crystal Palace defender has recently emerged as a target for the Gunners as Mikel Arteta looks to further bolster his backline.
According to The Mirror, Arsenal are set to join the race for Guehi's signature. The England international has entered the final six months of his contract at Selhurst Park, making him available for a discounted fee in the January transfer window or, failing that, free in the summer.
The report claims that Arsenal have shown a genuine interest in Guehi, but they face strong competition from Manchester City, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich. The Mirror adds that the north Londoners shortlisted the Crystal Palace captain as an option in the summer, but they chose to sign Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia and Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen instead.
Any potential suitor will reportedly need to make a 'substantial offer' to convince the Eagles to sell this month. At the end of August, Liverpool had a £35million bid, plus £5million in add-ons, accepted, but Steve Parish pulled the plug at the eleventh hour on deadline day.
According to The Mirror, the Eagles could demand a similar fee, knowing many of Europe's top clubs are in the market for defensive reinforcements. Hincapie was forced to come off during Arsenal's goalless draw to Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and John Stones are all nursing knocks at the Etihad Stadium. Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano still haven't signed new deals either, casting doubt over their respective futures at Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
If Arsenal were to win the race for Guehi's signature, the Emirates Stadium would suddenly be home to some of the best centre-backs in Europe. Arteta would have a wealth of options at his disposal, giving the Gunners every chance of competing on all fronts.
In theory, having seven or eight top players in one position would be great. In practice, however, having seven or eight top players in one position would be a disaster.
Of course, the likes of Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, and Hincapie could still compete with Myles Lewis-Skelly for minutes at full-back. But that would still leave Saliba, Gabriel, Mosquera, and potentially Guehi battling it out for two places at centre-back.
It would be a disaster; the lack of hierarchy would cause a rift in the squad and force many to leave. Not to mention that many will have the World Cup at the back of their mind, knowing they need game time just to stand a chance of securing a place on the plane to the United States.
Nevertheless, despite speculation over Guehi's future, Oliver Glasner believes his skipper will see out his deal. Speaking recently to Sky Sports, the Crystal Palace boss said: "I think Marc will stay, but if Marc says, 'I want to leave', and a club pays massive money - with five months left of a contract - every player will leave if you're playing for a club like Crystal Palace.
"I'm pretty sure our chairman will ask for a very high price for him and then let's see. I don't know if Marc wants to leave."
When asked if he was worried Guehi could leave this month, Glasner added: "No more worried than in the summer because the summer would've been the same.
"If the offer would have been high enough that the club is fine with it, and if Marc wanted to go, he wouldn't be a Crystal Palace player anymore. I think last January would've been the same, and the year before would be the same.
"Every single player has a price where the club will sell him when you're Crystal Palace and maybe because we're not the end of the food chain in football. For me it was a little bit surprising what was made out of it, because it's the exactly same situation as it was in the summer.
"Right now, when I see him playing, when I see him training, when I see his commitment and when we are talking quite often together, then I think the fans can be really be calm but you never know what will happen in football."
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