Newcastle United can hijack £35m Liverpool deal to gain ultimate Alexander Isak revenge
Newcastle United were interested in Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi last year.
Crystal Palace are reportedly resigned to losing skipper Marc Guehi within the next 10 months.
Liverpool infamously tried - and failed - to sign the England international on deadline day. A deal had been agreed, with Guehi understood to have carried out media duties ahead of a move, before the transfer fell through.
Palace ultimately blocked the defender’s exit after being unable to find a replacement. Igor Julio was the player lined up but he snubbed the Eagles for West Ham United at the death - hence Guehi’s wishes hitting a roadblock.
Newcastle United still interested?
Rewind a year earlier and Newcastle United had bids as high as £60million rejected for the centre-back. This is vastly more than the £35million Palace accepted from Liverpool earlier this month.
However, Guehi is now entering the final months of his contract at Selhurst Park. According to Sky Sports, Eagles chiefs are now coming to terms with their captain leaving, whether that be in January or next summer.
As for Newcastle, they maintained an arm’s length interest in Guehi but never renewed the same concrete approach as last year. Even when in the market for a centre-back, names like Giorgio Scalvini were floated before settling on Malick Thiaw.
Toon chiefs would love to get one over on Liverpool following the Alexander Isak saga. Landing a former target in Guehi definitely fits that criteria - but appears incredibly unlikely.
Arne Slot honest about Marc Guehi
Liverpool boss Slot left the door open for a fresh Guehi approach further down the line. He said after the breakdown: “It would be a bit ridiculous to deny that we were close to signing Guehi. That is so out in the open. But these things happen.
"It probably happened to our players where they were close to signing for other clubs and then things changed at the last moment. We would have liked to sign him, of course.
"If we feel we can strengthen the team, we never hesitate to do so and that is what we tried to do. It is a pity for us and the player but he is in a good place at Palace, where he won the FA Cup and Community Shield. Let’s see what the future brings for him and us."
Crystal Palace meltdown explained
Oliver Glasner claimed he did not threaten to resign if Guehi left - contrary to reports at the time. He said: “It's the last time I want to talk about it. I never threatened to leave the club. Never. I didn't have to threaten anybody. There were no bad tensions between the chairman and myself.
"It was really just a discussion about sports, and he decided against the money and for the sporting perspective of Crystal Palace. Big credit to the chairman."