Man City dealt Marc Guehi transfer blow as expert delivers honest January verdict

Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole that Pep Guardiola’s side are, in his view, unlikely to finalise a deal for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi in the January transfer window.

Speculation over the 25-year-old’s future at Selhurst Park is rife at a time when he has less than six months remaining on his contract with the Eagles.

Guehi, who saw a £35m transfer to Liverpool collapse at the eleventh hour in the summer, has emerged as a January target for Man City who are keen to bolster their defensive options in the absence of injured trio Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and John Stones.

Reports have claimed that the Citizens have been exploring a winter-window move for the England international and continue to try and reach an agreement with Palace over a permanent transfer this month.

However, it has been suggested that Guehi may prefer to remain at Palace for the rest of the season and assess his future in the summer when he becomes a free agent and multiple top European clubs are expected to battle for his signature.

Sharing his thoughts on Guehi as a player and why Man City should sign him, McInerney told Sports Mole: “I think he's a cracking player. I think you need multiple centre-backs in football in 2026. Look at Arsenal, they've got about eight, nine players who can play at centre-back, and I'm not even exaggerating.

“I think five centre-backs is a necessity next season, because there’s too much football, players get injured, and I understand if one gets minimal football and wants to leave next summer, so be it. That's the price you pay because the cream rises to the top.

Guehi’s qualities assessed as Man City transfer doubts emerge

“Most teams play an awful lot of football these days and the idea of just having five centre-backs, especially with two injury prone (Stones and Nathan Ake), it's just not enough. [Signing] Guehi would make an awful lot of sense, and stylistically he’s a cracking player.

“Twenty-five years old, loads of experience, England international, very likable person by all accounts, very mature, a leader, incredibly composed, technically excellent, so good at stepping into midfield, really two-footed, a really crisp passer, an aggressive, physical centre-back. He's absolutely brilliant.”

However, McInerney cannot envisage Man City completing a deal for Guehi this month and can understand why the defender would wait until the summer when “Europe’s finest clubs”, including Premier League rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, would be competing to sign him on a free transfer.

“Having said all that, I just don't think it's going to happen,” he added. “Reading the tea leaves right now, it could be that leaving in January, if you're Marc Guehi, could be a big ask when you could wait until the summer and have some of Europe's finest clubs battling for your signature.

“He might wait until May and have Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and PSG all knocking on his door.

“Obviously, I think he should go to Man City. I'm a City fan and I think it would be a cracking move because he would start for one of the biggest clubs in world football under Guardiola in a World Cup year.

“He would be an immediate starter, will play until the end of season, so it's great for his immediate short-term World Cup gains - but he doesn't necessarily need that as he's probably going to start for England anyway.

Guehi “thinking about elsewhere” amid Liverpool, Arsenal links

“I think he's thinking he’ll just wait until the summer, get a massive signing on fee, have a nice send-off for Crystal Palace when he leaves at the end of the season, don't risk any complications ahead of the World Cup, he’s a guaranteed starter [at Palace], gets a better payday and he gets more opportunities that he can really think about over time.

“I don't think City are going to get this done in this window. Potentially in the summer, [but] my gut tells me that he's thinking about elsewhere. He agreed for Liverpool (in the summer).

“I can also see him potentially still being a London boy (amid Arsenal links), but I’ve seen some suggesting that he'd be interested in Bayern and playing over there (in Germany).”

McInerney added: “I don't think he'd be against playing for City, but I think he's curious for his other options, and logically it makes no sense to join City right now, if you're playing the cards so to speak.

“I'd love him, I think he's a really good player, but I think this is a speculative one for City and a very hard deal to get done potentially in January.”

What is Man City’s plan B in January transfer window?

Asked if Man City will consider signing an alternative transfer target this month or opt to stick with their current defensive options, McInerney said: “I think Guehi is different than most, because he's a summer target anyway that we've brought forward.

“Unless there's a real obvious summer target they could bring forward, I don't think they'll go for anyone at this point. I think Guehi is an opportunistic signing, one that they'd love to do, but I think everyone else is going to be project signings at this point.

“Vitor Reis is out on loan. I think he's a cracking player. I really rate Vitor Reis and I think City do too. I think he's a young John Stones. I think he's an excellent player and he's doing really well at Girona. There are rumours that he's being considered for the Brazil squad as an outside chance for the World Cup. I think he's got a lot of charisma and the idea is he's going to come back next season.

“Ruben Dias will be back in six, seven weeks. It's a long time, that's an awful lot of games, but I presume if you're going to sign any player now, it wouldn't be for the next couple of weeks anyway. At that point, you're three to four weeks into the eight-week spell of Dias.

“[Max] Alleyne and [Abdukodir] Khusanov have done really well. Ake's there, Nico Gonzalez could play there, Rodri could play there, as Guardiola has said. I think they'll look for someone, but unless it's obvious that's going to be someone they feel they can start next season, I don't really think they'll do it.

“I think Guehi is different because he's potentially improving the first 11 quality. If it's not Guehi, it could be a random name we don't know about, but I think they might just persist.”

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