After Man City pushed aggressively for a deal this month, they have emerged as the frontrunner to sign the Crystal Palace captain. However, Arsenal have now joined clubs like Liverpool and Bayern Munich in expressing genuine interest in the 25-year-old centre-back, who will become a free agent this summer.
It remains unclear whether Arsenal are willing to make an immediate bid or wait patiently until Guehi’s contract expires in the summer. In fact, Arsenal had their eye on Guehi last summer but ultimately opted for other targets, signing Spanish prospect Mosquera from Valencia while bringing in Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen.
Nonetheless, Arsenal remain firm admirers of Guehi. If the player decides to see out the final six months of his contract and leave as a free agent, he will have no shortage of suitors among Europe’s top clubs. Even with Guehi’s contract nearing its end, Man City still need to make a substantial offer to convince Crystal Palace to let him go this month. Liverpool had a £35m base fee plus £5m add-ons bid accepted by Palace last summer, but the deal collapsed on transfer deadline day.
Crystal Palace are aware they could still receive a similar offer in January, as Man City are in desperate need amid injuries to first-choice centre-backs Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, plus John Stones’ absence. Palace need to weigh up the potential value of keeping Guehi – the team are still competing in European competition, have an unresolved FA Cup schedule, and are targeting a European qualification spot. This means they could demand around £40m, which will test Man City’s resolve. Any club trying to strike a deal now understands that Guehi could secure a more lucrative contract this summer if he leaves as a free agent.
Man City will have to pay a high salary and a huge transfer fee, meaning that while they are in the lead, other clubs are still closely monitoring current or future deal opportunities.
For Arsenal, Guehi’s versatility makes him a smart free-agent target for the summer window, even though they already have the Premier League’s top centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães. But last summer, under the leadership of sporting director Berta, Arsenal demonstrated their ambition in the transfer market, committed to fostering fierce competition across all positions. Signing the player widely regarded as England’s best defender on a free transfer would be a major opportunity not to be missed.
