What Oliver Glasner said to Steve Parish to convince Palace to stop Guehi from joining Liverpool | OneFootball

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has revealed how he persuaded chairman Steve Parish not to sell Marc Guehi to Liverpool at the end of the summer transfer window.

A £35m deal had been agreed between the two clubs and the defender seemed all set to join the Premier League champions, only for the Selhurst Park outfit to block the move in the late hours of deadline day.

The Reds have continued to be strongly linked with the Eagles captain ever since, although The Athletic‘s Gregg Evans reported on Tuesday that a January switch to Anfield is unlikely given how ‘complex and difficult’ it’d be to negotiate successfully next month.

Glasner reveals how he intervened over Guehi transfer

As per the Daily Briefing, Glasner denied suggestions that he’d have resigned if Guehi was sold, but warned that Palace could’ve been left worryingly short if they’d allowed their captain to join Liverpool on deadline day.

The Eagles manager said: “I know what they are capable of and what they are not capable of. I know how many games we have to play. I know players will be leaving for AFCON and I have to judge all of these situations, and then I am talking to the board and the chairman and giving them my advice.

“It was the same with Marc Guehi. Everybody said that I threatened to step back – that is completely wrong. I said, ‘If you sell Marc Guehi, and we don’t have the right replacement, we could struggle. If you are fine with this, then sell him.’

“Then the chairman decided that Marc stays. I just gave my advice, but it is never a wish. It is nothing to do like, ‘They have to sign players for Oliver Glasner to sign a new contract’.”

(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

A blow for Liverpool, but Guehi move is still possible in 2026

Some Liverpool fans on social media were quite annoyed with Palace for denying Guehi his move to Anfield at the 11th hour, but we can completely understand Glasner’s position and why he intervened on deadline day.

With the Eagles stepping into the unknown with added Conference League commitments, it would’ve been a monumental body blow for them to lose their captain at the last minute and have no time to sign a replacement.

Put it this way – imagine how Arne Slot and Reds supporters would’ve felt if, on the afternoon of 1 September 2025, FSG sanctioned the sale of Virgil van Dijk to a domestic rival and were unable to bring in a positional alternative.

It was agonising from a Liverpool perspective to have the Guehi transfer snatched away from us at the 11th hour, and that intervention from Glasner has proven costly for us given our defensive woes ever since (20 Premier League goals conceded already).

However, with the Eagles captain yet to sign a new contract and having just under seven months remaining on his current deal, it’s still viable that LFC could swoop for him in 2026 and might even be able to swerve paying a fee if the 25-year-old becomes a free agent.

It was a blow to miss out on him on deadline day, but FSG could still get their man next year if they approach it in a sufficiently proactive manner.

You can watch Slot’s full pre-Sunderland press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: