Crystal Palace to demand £65m-plus for Marc Guehi amid contract fears
Marc Guehi is a defender in demand - Getty Images /Robbie Jay Barratt
Crystal Palace have not given up on keeping England’s latest star Marc Guehi – even if the defender maintains his impressive start to the European Championship.
And Palace are prepared to start the bidding at £65 million should Guehi ask to leave when he returns from Germany.
Guehi performed brilliantly in England’s opening Group C victory over Serbia and had already caught the attention of Liverpool before the tournament kicked off.
The former Chelsea defender has two years to run on his Palace contract, which has alerted Liverpool with more clubs expected to come forward for the talented 23-year-old.
Palace will be wary of allowing Guehi to enter the final12 months of his contract and the player has put his club future on hold while he is away at the Euros with England.
But the Selhurst Park club are already preparing to hold talks over a new deal that would see Guehi stay for at least one more season.
Should those talks fail, then insiders insist that Palace would not entertain bids of less than £65 million for Guehi this summer, having noted Everton’s valuation of Jarrad Branthwaite.
Everton have placed a £70 million asking price on the head of Branthwaite and Palace value Guehi in a similar bracket.
Palace are facing a difficult summer, following their brilliant finish to last season under head coach Oliver Glasner, who Bayern Munich even enquired over.
Chelsea, Bayern and Newcastle United last week contacted Palace over Michael Olise, while Guehi’s England team-mate Eberechi Eze has attracted strong interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
Both Olise and Eze are thought to have release clauses in their contracts that could be triggered this summer, and Palace could offer Guehi a big wage increase and the safety net of a get-out clause in his next deal.
Guehi’s performance against Serbia has solidified his place as the first-choice partner to John Stones in the centre of England’s defence for the Euros.
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