Crystal Palace Roy Hodgson’s £60m “beast” wants to leave in January

The Eagles are set to face a battle to hang onto one of their most prized assets in 2024.

A fresh rumour suggests that one of Crystal Palace’s key players may be wanting to leave Selhurst Park in January, which may mean losing him.

Which athletes are going to leave Crystal Palace?
During the summer, Luke Plange signed a contract to spend the rest of the season on loan with Carlisle United in League One, joining Wilfried Zaha, Luka Milivojevic, Jack Butland, and Vicente Guaita as permanent departures from the team.

The Eagles could still be forced to cash in on even more of their first-team stars at the start of next year because nine of them will be out of contract at the end of the season, including the likes of Jeffrey Schlupp, Nathaniel Clyne and Will Hughes (Crystal Palace contracts).

Another one of Roy Hodgson’s favourites who might be heading for the exit door despite still having three years remaining on his deal is Marc Guehi, who has made a total of 92 appearances since moving to SE25 from Premier League rivals Chelsea back in 2021 (Transfermarkt – Guehi statistics).

The South London Press recently reported that Manchester United are still keeping close tabs on the 23-year-old centre-back as they weigh up an approach for their long-term target, and if the following update is to be believed, England’s international would relish the opportunity to complete the switch to Old Trafford.

Marc Guehi transfer update

According to Spanish reports (via CaughtOffside), sharing a transfer update on Guehi, Crystal Palace’s talisman would “welcome the chance” to sign for Man United at some stage in 2024.

The Selhurst Park star would be keen to work with Erik ten Hag, and he is likely to cost his admirers £60m, which is the valuation that has been set for him by Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman.

How good is Marc Guehi?

Standing at 6 foot tall, Guehi isn’t the biggest centre-back around, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a rock at the heart of the backline so far this season, where he’s averaging 4.9 clearances per game in the top-flight alongside a 91.3% pass success rate, which displays his calmness and composure on the ball (WhoScored – Guehi statistics).

The Abidjan native is also capable of making a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch having posted 22 contributions (14 goals and eight assists) since the start of his career, highlighting the threat he can pose when it comes to set pieces.

Furthermore, Hodgson’s regular feature has the ability to operate out wide at both left-back and right-back as well as his usual role in the middle, so his versatility is another attribute that makes him a great option for the boss to have at his disposal in the capital.

Finally, Guehi has been described as a “beast” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, so whilst there’s a strong possibility that Man United will come calling next year, Palace chiefs need to do everything they can to fend off interest and retain the services of their defender.