Liverpool will be on high alert after what Crystal Palace owner has said about Marc Guehi | OneFootball

Marc Guehi’s future remains a big talking point going into the January transfer window after his deadline day move to Liverpool in the summer collapsed last minute.

Guehi was on the verge of signing for the Reds, with £35m deal agreed between the two clubs and the player had even completed his medical in London.

However, Crystal Palace ended up pulling the plug on the deal in the very last minute, preventing the player his big move to Anfield.

The decision to not sell Guehi was a big one as it meant that the club would lose him for free next summer with the player entering the final year of his contract.

Marc Guehi’s blocked move to Liverpool explained

(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

In an interview with talkSPORT, Palace owner and chairman Steve Parish has given an inside scoop on why the ‘difficult’ decision was made.

Parish explained that he felt keeping the player for another season was necessary for Palace to enjoy a strong season, specially with the club playing in their first European competition.

“It’s a difficult decision. 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 guess about these things. If you look at it rationally, if you look at what is worth the place in the Premier League, the fact that we’re in the Conference League for the first time in our history, this is a fairly unusual set of circumstances in which to keep a player.

“If we were fighting between the difference of 10th and 14th, if that was going to be the difference between keeping Marc and letting Marc go, then probably we would have said right, ‘We should take the money.’”

Crystal Palace’s succession plans for Marc Guehi

When asked about Crystal Palace’s plans to replace Guehi when he eventually departs, chairman Parish pointed to Jaydee Canvot and Chadi Riad as players who could make an external signing unnecessary.

“We’ve got Jaydee [Canvot] who’s coming in, who’s going to develop as a player, we hope,” Parish said.

“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.

But with the Conference League, and the way we want to fight this season — maybe even finish in the top half for the first time — we felt it was a good decision to keep Marc.

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.”

Has Parish kept the possibility of Guehi leaving in January?

Financially, the club will be tempted to cash in on him before his contract ends in the summer.

It appears as if Parish has kept the possibility of a potential sale open by suggesting that the two players once they return from injuries could provide the necessary depth.

Ultimately, much will depend on how Palace’s season unfolds. If they perform well in both the Premier League and the Europa Conference League, the hierarchy could decide to stick with Guehi until the end of the campaign and absorb the financial cost of losing him later.

But regardless, Liverpool are said to be still interested in signing him and will be keeping a close eye on the situation.

The injury to Giovanni Leoni could force the Reds into the January market for another centre-back and they could test the waters with Palace once again.

That said, the Reds will face stiffer competition this time around with several other clubs keen on signing him including Real Madrid and Barcelona while .