Marc Guehi will be pivotal in determining Manchester City’s title race prospects – but it may not be enough | OneFootball

If there is one thing Pep Guardiola would have learned from Manchester City’s disastrous Manchester derby defeat, it is that he needs defensive reinforcements – urgently.

Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu gave new Manchester United boss Michael Carrick a well-deserved triumph in the first game of his second caretaker stint at Old Trafford and its outcome will leave a lasting sting.

In retrospect, the warning signs were there from the start, when Harry Maguire struck the crossbar after just three minutes with a header that, really, should have gone in.

And the let-offs kept coming: Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced into a double save and Mbeumo nearly flashed United in front, two minutes before his opener, when Bruno Fernandes whipped an early cross to the unmarked back post.

Of course, United were handed a get-out-of-jail-free card in the 11th minute when Diogo Dalot sunk his studs into Jeremy Doku’s knee – a foul of such recklessness should only be sanctioned with dismissal, but Anthony Taylor’s decision of yellow certainly gave United a boost, not least the three goals they scored that were all disallowed for offside.

That’s not a tool for excuse for City though, as Pep Guardiola rightly laid out in his post-match press conference. It doesn’t take away the fact that here lies a defence that is undergoing an injury crisis and must change if City want to fulfill their goal of winning a seventh Premier League title in nine years. 

The answer? In short, Marc Guehi. However, it’s important to note that he may not be enough. The 25-year-old officially joined Manchester City on Monday for £20 million after passing a medical over the weekend, with a contract running until the summer of 2031. 

His signature takes City’s spending across the last 12 months to over £400 million, half of which has been led by Hugo Viana, the sporting director who took over from Txiki Begiristain in the summer last year. 

Standing as one of the best centre-backs in the world as the 25-year-old approaches his prime, it all began for Guehi when he started playing football for Cray Wanderers at the age of five in Chislehurst, London. 

“I’m really happy to be here to be honest. This is somewhere I used to play games as a young kid so it’s just good to be back,” Guehi said in conversation with Sky Sports at Flamingo Park.

He later spoke on his greatest memories with the semi-professional side. “I’d say winning a trophy, we had a really good team. I can’t remember what the tournament was, I know it was a big tournament,” he added.

“I think the pictures up on the wall somewhere [inside the stadium], we had a really good team and that was an amazing feeling. When you’re young, you want to enjoy it but it’s even better when you’re winning games as well and winning trophies so that was great.”

Guehi’s stay at Cray Wanderers was short-lived, given he was only seven years old at the time of his exit. But his move to Chelsea would shape his career from there onwards; a scout from the west London outfit reportedly monitored Guehi from his first months at Cray. 

The transfer marked a time where Guehi said that ‘God had other plans,’ after his parents wanted the young talent to focus on religion and education. Guehi’s family, including his father – a renowned minister at a church in south London – played a key role in the defender’s upbringing.

“My parents worked a lot,” Guehi said in a previous interview with Prime Video. “Maybe not jobs that they like to do, a lot of cleaning jobs. You know, you’re coming from a different country and can’t afford the same opportunities as others.

“They’d actually take me along with them just to see what they were doing, and I think when you’re a young kid and you see your parents doing that, it’s not great to see.

“But they’re doing the best they can just so that you could have some sort of life. Obviously, they wanted their kids to have the best education possible. It’s not that they didn’t want me to play football, but they wanted me to focus a lot more on education. You know, God had other plans for me.”

At Chelsea, during a 14-year period where 11 managers commanded the first-team, including Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Conte, Guehi worked his way through the club’s pyramid, making a name for himself at U18 level and impressing largely throughout his time in the youth squad. 

A progressive and eye-catching talent throughout those years, Guehi won the quadruple with the U18s and reached the UEFA Youth League final in 2018, where they lost to Barcelona in Switzerland. Three years on, Chelsea’s first-team won the UEFA Champions League after beating Manchester City and Guardiola in Lisbon.

It was 2021 when Guehi, having accumulated a total 104 appearances, albeit just two in the first -team, left Stamford Bridge for Crystal Palace, becoming the Eagles’ third all-time record signing after Christian Benteke and Mamadou Sakho. He also became Palace’s youngest captain in 10 years when he joined.

There were stages wherein Guehi was Palace’s most important asset and that was reflected in the 2022-23 season, during which he started all but one of his former club’s games before suffering a knee injury. 

The subsequent three years were spent being caught up in transfer sagas, controversy and breaking records. In 2024, Newcastle United sent three progressive bids that were rejected despite being in excess of £60 million, though Palace’s sale of Joachim Andersen to Fulham around a similar time dealt a big blow to Oliver Glasner’s options in defence. 

Nearly 14 months later, controversy struck when during the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign, Guehi penned ‘I love Jesus’ on his captain’s armband and despite receiving a warning by the Football Association (FA), in the following fixture against Ipswich Town, his armband read ‘Jesus loves you’. Nonetheless, the defender was reprimanded. 

It took no shine off Guehi’s advancement and last season, the centre-back scored his highest tally of goals up to that point in his career – including two against Newcastle, one at Selhurst Park and one away – becoming the first player to do so since Jamie Carragher against Tottenham in the 1998-99 season.

In May, Guehi captained Palace to the club’s first ever major trophy, beating City in the FA Cup final before leading the south London side to FA Community Shield glory against a Liverpool team that posed three new summer signings – Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike.

Following those historic moments in Palace’s history, Guehi gained a reputation that attracted major European clubs; Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester City all declared attentiveness to signing the 25-year-old. 

“Marc showed it in the summer transfer window, showed it the whole autumn that he was 100% committed to the team and to Crystal Palace. I wish him all the best for the rest of his career. He is still at the beginning of his great career. He is a fantastic guy,” Glasner, the Palace manager, said on Friday, as quoted by BBC Sport. 

Questioning where Guehi will fit in Guardiola’s squad would mean dwelling on something that is already settled but his importance to the club, particularly at this current moment in time, is pivotal.

Josko Gvardiol remains sidelined till at least April with a fractured leg, with Ruben Dias facing several more weeks out with a hamstring injury – as an exit becomes likelier than ever for injury-riddled John Stones when his contract expires in the summer.

That leaves a defensive line comprising Abdukodir Khusanov, 20-year-old Max Alleyne, Nathan Ake and Matheus Nunes – who has missed recent defeats to Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt with the flu – but is expected to return soon. About as blundering as it can get for City. Nico O’Reilly is another option, though he didn’t start at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Guehi’s arrival makes for an excellent addition in Guardiola’s defence and one that will inevitably strengthen the Blues’ quest to overtake Arsenal, who are seven points clear of City at the top of the Premier League.

Alleyne, who was recalled from loan at Watford earlier this month, has quickly adapted to life in the first-team and looks comfortable at the heart of defence. O’Reilly and Nunes are expected to continue dominating the flanks after a disastrous derby defeat that saw Rico Lewis and Ake get humbled by United.

Perhaps more signings for Guardiola’s defence is the most likened option but that concurrently comes with financial strain amid a period where the club have not won a trophy since the Community Shield 17 months ago.

And with over £400 million in improvements since then – despite the departures of key figures such as Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson last summer – there is a towering expectation that City need to bolster their defence for another Premier League title. Whether that transpires remains to be seen but Guehi is clearly an exciting start.