Arsenal reportedly perform a U-turn on their stance regarding Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, who has also been linked with Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Arsenal have reportedly cooled their interest in Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi due to the player’s asking price.
The 24-year-old, who began his career with Chelsea, has spent the last three seasons at Crystal Palace, making 111 appearances across all competitions.
Guehi established himself as a star player for an Eagles side that finished 10th in the Premier League last season, and he was also a standout performer for England en route to the Euro 2024 final earlier this month.
The central defender has subsequently enhanced his reputation over the last 12 months and his impressive performances are understood to have altered a number of top European clubs.
Guehi has two years remaining on his contract at Selhurst Park and allegedly has no intention of penning fresh terms with Palace, seemingly handing a boost to clubs interested in his services.
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Arsenal pull out of Guehi race?
A recent report claims that European giants including Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are all monitoring developments in the race for Guehi’s signature.
Premier League trio Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have also been credited with an interest in the defender, although the latter now appear to have pulled out of the running.
According to The Times, Arsenal are reluctant to meet Palace’s hefty £70m valuation of Guehi and have subsequently shelved their interest in the Englishman.
The Gunners are said to have moved onto other targets, with Bologna‘s Riccardo Calafiori believed to be at the top of their wishlist, although their £42.1m pursuit of the 22-year-old is reportedly on hold due to an issue in negotiations over a sell-on clause.
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Liverpool now in pole position to sign Guehi?
Arsenal’ decision to step back from the race for Guehi, coupled with Man United’s big-money move for Leny Yoro as well as their pursuits of both Jarrad Branthwaite and Matthijs de Ligt, has seemingly opened the door for Liverpool to make their move for the Palace star.
A report from TEAMtalk claims that the Merseyside giants are ‘super confident’ of striking a deal with Palace to sign Guehi for around £65m, slightly less than the Eagles’ current asking price.
Liverpool are known to be on the lookout for a new centre-back following the departure of Joel Matip upon the expiration of his contract last month.
Speculation over the long-term future of captain Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, has intensified in recent months, with the 33-year-old having now entered the final year of his contract at Anfield.
Should Guehi complete a big-money move to Liverpool, 20% of the transfer fee would go directly to Chelsea who inserted a sell-on clause in the defender’s deal when he joined Palace.