Arsenal sporting director Edu is reportedly interested in signing Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, as the Gunners eye quality cover for William Saliba.
The Frenchman’s injury absence has dealt a huge blow to Arsenal’s title hopes in recent weeks, with Manchester City now favourites to lift the trophy.
Now, it seems Edu and co will target Guehi this summer, but the Gunners may have to pay a sizeable fee for his services.
In January, Arsenal paid £20m for centre-back Jakub Kiwior, who was intended to provide support to Saliba.
However, the 23-year-old has failed to have the desired impact. Instead, Arteta has opted to start Rob Holding in Saliba’s absence.
Although, Holding was dominated by Erling Haaland on Wednesday, as Manchester City defeated Arsenal 4-1 at the Etihad.
As a result, the Gunners are looking to bring in Guehi, who has been a key player for Crystal Palace this season
That is according to the Daily Express, who claim that Guehi ‘interests’ Arteta, after picking up two years of valuable experience in the Premier League.
Since joining Crystal Palace in 2021, the defender has made 78 appearances across all competitions, quickly becoming a key player for the club. In fact, Guehi has started all but one of the Eagles’ Premier League matches this term.
His solid displays earned him a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad in September, showing how highly rated he is.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see Arsenal vying for Guehi’s signature. However, as mentioned, he will not come cheap
Guehi is under contract at Selhurst Park until 2026, so Palace are under no immediate pressure to sell him. As a result, the Gunners may have to pay over the odds for his services.
Transfermarkt value Guehi at approximately £35m, but it seems likely that the Eagles could demand a fee in excess of that amount this summer.
The question for the Palace star, however, is whether he would be willing to join Arsenal and most likely see his playing time greatly reduced next season.
Indeed, Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have formed an excellent defensive partnership this season and have been a key reason for their success.
Saliba picked up a back injury against Sporting Lisbon in March and hasn’t played since.
The defender could potentially be out for the season, too, with Arteta revealing in a recent interview that his recovery is taking longer than expected
“Regarding William, we still have to wait a little bit more,” Arteta said.
“He’s not progressing as quickly as we hoped and it is a bit delicate so we want to be certain that when we push him, he’s ready to absorb the load and the risk that we’ll take, and that’s not possible at the moment.”
So, it will be interesting to see whether Guehi ditches Palace for Arsenal this summer
Certainly, he would have more chance of winning trophies at the Emirates, but his England spot could be in jeopardy if he fails to play consistent minutes next season.
