Marc Guehi was on the verge of joining Liverpool, but Crystal Palace made a late U-turn on the deal and it all came down to their European ambitions.
The two clubs had reached an agreement worth £35 million near the end of the transfer window. Guehi had even completed his medical in London to fast-track the move. All that remained was the contract signing and a quick photo session.
But just when everything seemed set, the deal collapsed even after Liverpool requested an extension from the Premier League to finalize the paperwork. The sudden change sparked drama on deadline day.
Guehi had reportedly agreed to the move weeks prior and had even recorded a farewell message. However, internal issues at Palace over finding a suitable replacement threw everything off course.
In the end, Palace couldn't secure a defender of equal quality in time. Manager Oliver Glasner also reportedly threatened to walk away if Guehi was sold. With the club preparing for its first-ever appearance in the UEFA Conference League, Palace weren’t willing to take the risk.
“This was a really tough call. It’s not just black and white,” Palace Chairman Steve Parish told talkSPORT.
“After a lot of thought and advice, I decided it was in the club’s best interest to keep Marc,” he added.
“We didn’t want to speculate on what might happen. When you look at where we are in the Premier League and the fact we’re playing European football for the first time in our history it’s not your typical scenario when deciding whether to sell a player.”
“If we were just hovering between 10th and 14th, maybe we would’ve said, ‘You know what, let’s take the money.’ But this season, the stakes are different.”
