Arsenal are set to join the signing of England defender Marc Guehi. Manchester City are currently in the lead in signing the Crystal Palace captain, but they took a big step towards securing a deal this month. However, Arsenal, along with Liverpool and Bayern Munich, have shown genuine interest in the 25-year-old, who will be a free agent in the summer.
It is unclear whether Arsenal will make a bid now or wait until Gehi’s contract expires in the summer. The Gunners were interested in Guehi last summer, but ultimately opted to sign Spanish prospect Cristian Mosquera from Valencia and Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen.
Despite this, Arsenal remain big fans of Guehi and there will be no lack of interest from Europe’s top clubs should he decide to leave on a free transfer when his contract with Palace expires. Despite his contract coming to an end, he will need a substantial offer from City to convince Palace to sell him this month.
Liverpool had accepted bids of £35m and further £5m last summer, but were unable to finalize a deal before the transfer deadline. City are keen to strengthen their defense following injuries to key defenders Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and John Stones, so Palace believe they can make a similar fee this January.
Palace are still competing in Europe, with the FA Cup just around the corner and ambitions to secure a European spot, so they will need to consider the potential value of retaining Guehi. This could test City’s resolve as they could demand around £40m, while clubs looking to sign him now will be aware that Gehi could potentially sign an even bigger deal in the summer as a free agent.
City’s large wages and high transfer fees mean that, although City are in a favorable position, other clubs are keenly looking at potential current or future signings. There remains uncertainty over Josep Guardiola’s long-term future, but manager Enzo Maresca, who has been floated as a possible replacement, is reportedly hoping to encourage Chelsea to re-sign Guehi during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool remain interested, but Bayern Munich’s interest is particularly strong, with manager Vincent Kompany a big fan and Harry Kane keen to bring his England team-mate to Germany.
Arsenal may see Guehi as an obvious choice on a free transfer this summer due to his versatility, despite already having a strong defense, with William Saliba and Gabriel forming one of the best defensive partnerships in the Premier League.
But Arsenal, under the guidance of sporting director Andrea Berta, demonstrated their market ambitions and desire to compete fiercely across all divisions last summer.
Arguably signing England’s top defender on a free transfer would be a tremendous coup and Arsenal will no doubt be keen to land it.
