Man City close in on Marc Guehi as Guardiola moves for January centre-back | OneFootball

Manchester City are edging closer to a deal to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace this month.

Pep Guardiola wants to bring in a centre-back in January following injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvadiol. Guehi has emerged as the leading target for the Citizens, who hope to capitalise on the player's contract situation to negotiate a reasonable fee.

Guehi's contract atCrystal Palace expires in the summer, when he will be available as a free agent.

City want to get a deal done now, amid summer interest from rivals includingLiverpool and Arsenal, and the need for reinforcements to their depleted defensive ranks. Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also among the teams keen to sign Guehi as a free agent in the summer. Foreign sides have been free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with the defender since January 1st.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that City are advancing in talks to sign Guehi after submitting an 'important' proposal to the 25-year-old.

Once given the green light from the defender, City will proceed in negotiations with Palace. It's expected that Palace will seek a fee in the region of £30m for the club captain.

Guehi came close to a move toLiverpool in the summer with a £35m deal agreed between the teams. The transfer collapsed on deadline day, despite Guehi undergoing a medical, after Palace failed to sign a replacement in time.

The England international had been leaning towards assessing his options in the summer, but a substantial offer from City could persuade him to Manchester this month.

City remain in pursuit of all four competitions this season and beat Newcastle in the first leg of theirCarabao Cup semi-final in midweek.

Guardiola's side started that fixture at St James' Park with the inexperienced centre-back partnership of Abdukodir Khusanov and Max Alleyne. The latter was recalled from his loan spell at Watford this month to aid the club's defensive crisis.