Crystal Palace feel that Marc Guehi could one day be worth £100 million as Premier League giants Manchester United keep tabs on the England international centre-half.
There was one stand-out moment, during Crystal Palace’s 3-2 win over Wolves before the international break, which shone a light on exactly why Marc Guehi has earned himself a place on the radar of a Manchester United side lining up a big-money defensive acquisition ahead of the summer of 2024.
Guehi picked up the ball on the edge of his own penalty area and, with barely a second thought, burst into midfield, dragging Palace up the pitch while turning defence into attack in an instant.
With any centre-half in an Erik ten Hag team expected to be as comfortable starting attacks as he is stopping them, this remarkable display of ball-carrying is unlikely to have passed the United scouts by.
Manchester United eye Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi
According to the Daily Mail, the Red Devils are keeping a very close eye on the former Chelsea prospect with Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and the injury-prone Raphael Varane all facing uncertain futures beyond the current campaign.
But after forcing his way into the Three Lions reckoning ahead of Euro 2024, and emboldened by the mega-money departures of fellow Englishmen Jack Grealish and James Maddison, there is a belief at Crystal Palace that Guehi could become the latest homegrown talent to smash the £100 million barrier in a future window.
“One of the big reasons that Palace already valued him over £60 million was because they see him as a future England international,” reporter Dean Jones tells Give Me Sport.
“Because of his age, they feel like this is a guy that could eventually be worth £100million, given the way that the transfer market is going right now. His price tag has already gone up, just off the back of this international break.”
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Guehi is a leader, too. The 23-year-old captained Crystal Palace on numerous occasions last season.
Maguire, meanwhile, was recently stripped of the United armband by Ten Hag, only for the much-maligned defender to turn down a summer switch to West Ham.