Marc Guehi decides his next move after being left furious at Liverpool transfer collapse - The Mirror

Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi has been forced to stay with the club after they pulled the plug on his £35million deadline-day transfer to Liverpool at the last minute

Marc Guehi is planning to leave Crystal Palace as a free agent next summer after seeing his deadline day move to Liverpool blocked.

Guehi had expected to join Liverpool on Monday after Palace chairman Steve Parish accepted a £35million offer for the centre-back. But, despite completing a medical in London and having a private jet booked to whisk him to Merseyside, the deal fell apart.

Parish changed his mind at the last minute after Palace manager Oliver Glasner threatened to resign. Glasner had made it clear for weeks that Guehi could not be sold without a replacement arriving and was willing to walk on principle.

Ultimately, the Palace boss got his way, but he has been left with an extremely angry Guehi, who feels let down by his club and is now considering giving up the captaincy. The 25-year-old defender has been praised for his professionalism during the saga, having continued to play and concentrate on football.

He played and scored in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, which he believed would be his final game for the club. But having joined up with England for the international break at St George’s Park, he has decided his next step, according to The Times.

Guehi has decided to resist any suggestion of signing a new contract with Palace, who he has represented since July 2021. He plans to deprive them of earning a transfer fee by leaving as a free agent when his contract expires on July 1, 2026, rather than departing in the January transfer window.

That is exactly the eventuality that Parish had been keen to avoid initially. The co-owner and chairman had been open about the need for Palace to consider their financial reality and sanctioned the £67.5m sale of Eberechi Eze to Arsenal.

He also knew that Monday represented the last chance for the club to bring in a decent fee for Guehi. “If Marc wants to sign a new contract then he can stay!” Parish said after the 1-0 win over Fredrikstad in the Conference League play-offs. “It’s a difficult situation. Everyone has to sell players to comply with the rules. That’s a situation that we will have to look at in the next 11 days.”

However, Palace failed to secure a direct replacement for Guehi, which enraged Glasner. The club thought they had agreed a loan move with Brighton for Igor Julio, but the Brazilian ended up choosing West Ham instead.

After showing an interest in Manchester City's Manuel Akanji, Monaco’s Mohammed Salisu and Rennes’ Jeremy Jacquet, they signed Toulouse’s 19-year-old defender Jaydee Canvot for £21m.

Palace are next in action against Sunderland on September 13 at Selhurst Park in a match which is sure to be emotional for Guehi. The defender is currently away with England, who face Andorra and Serbia in World Cup qualifiers in the coming days, but will soon have to return to Palace.

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