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Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has opened up on the ‘unusual set of circumstances’ behind Marc Guehi’s failed move to Liverpool.
Parish agreed a £35million deal with the Reds for his captain late in the transfer window, only to pull the plug on deadline day.
England international Guehi had completed his medical in London and even filmed an exit video before being told his move was off.
Real reason Guehi’s Liverpool transfer failed
talkSPORT understands Palace boss Oliver Glasner played a direct role in the defender staying at the club.
Glasner threatened to walk away if Guehi was sold, having failed to sign two centre-backs during the summer window.
talkSPORT understands Guehi has no plans to sign a new Palace contract and will thus leave Selhurst Park after the World Cup.
The club’s co-owner and chairman, Parish, recently explained the rationale behind rejecting Liverpool’s £35m bid, even with the possibility of their star player leaving for free within a year.
“It’s a difficult decision,” he explained live in the talkSPORT studio, “It’s as simple as that these things are never black and white.
“I decided in the end that, based on the advice that I got and with what I think, that we would have a better season if we kept Marc.
“We don’t make arbitrary decisions. Analyzing it logically, if you consider the value of a Premier League spot and participating in the Conference League for the first time ever, it’s an uncommon scenario for retaining a player under these conditions.
“If the scenario was different, such as the choice between finishing 10th or 14th and that was contingent on retaining Marc, we might have opted to accept the offer,” Parish elaborated.
Who will be Guehi’s replacement at Crystal Palace?
Parish also opened up on talkSPORT’s Sunday Session about the Eagles’ current succession plans for Guehi next summer.
Jaydee Canvot has already arrived from Toulouse, with Palace eagerly anticipating Chadi Riad’s return from injury as well.
“We’ve got Jaydee [Canvot] who’s coming in, who’s going to develop as a player we hope,” Parish added.
“We’ve got Chadi [Riad] coming back from injury. Hopefully, we’ll be okay. We should be okay, and that there’s no big loss.
“However, with the Conference League and our ambitions this season—potentially ending in the top half for the first time—we decided that keeping Marc would be beneficial,” he added.
“We’ve got Chadi coming back, hopefully in October. So in theory, we could get to a place where we don’t need to buy one.
“We could get to a place where we don’t need to replace Marc if we keep him all season.”
Will Guehi still join Liverpool?
Liverpool have no plans to bid for Guehi in January, talkSPORT understands; however, that was prior to Giovanni Leoni’s injury.
With Leoni set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Arne Slot only has captain Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez at his disposal.
As it stands, Liverpool are not inclined to bid for Guehi in January, knowing the Palace captain is a free transfer next summer.
Guehi is understood to be content to see out the season and pick his next club after the 2026 World Cup.
The 25-year-old will have various options next summer, with not only Liverpool interested in acquiring him for free, but also clubs like Real Madrid reportedly showing interest.
