Manchester United have been urged to consider signing Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi, who has been tipped to become the club’s best centre-back should he make the move to Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag has been hampered by an injury crisis at the back this season but could help fix some of the issues by signing Guehi – though they would face significant competition from their rivals.
Since leaving Chelsea for Palace in 2021, Guehi has proven to be one of the most capable defenders in the Premier League and has attracted interest from a host of top sides. Arsenal, Tottenham and Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea all had a vested interest in the 23-year-old in the summer. They were quoted a fee in the region of £50million but he stayed at Selhurst Park.
United are once again in the market for a defender and Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a shortlist has already been drawn up of targets including Jean-Clair Todibo, Antonio Silva, Edmond Tapsoba and Goncalo Inacio. Guehi was not on that list, but the club have been urged to consider the young defender.
Former United defender Paul Parker has been impressed with both Crystal Palace centre-backs, but believes that the Red Devils should focus on Guehi as he would be the best defender at the club should they fork out the money to sign the England international.
“From Manchester United’s perspective, I think I would look at his (Joachim Anderson’s) centre-half partner, Marc Guehi,” he told SpilXperten. “He is a fantastic centre half and I would take Guehi over Andersen, also because of his age.
“Guehi is only 23 years old and he is an England international. If Manchester United was to sign Guehi, he would be the best centre-half at the club, without a shadow of a doubt.
“I think Martinez is excellent but Guehi is more elegant with the ball with his feet. I think they could be a great centre-half pair. Guehi is so clever and he would be an amazing addition to the squad, and I would definitely give Man United the advice to go for some shopping at Crystal Palace.”
The praise for Guehi is considerable, especially as Martinez has more than proven his initial doubters wrong since arriving at United from Ajax over a year ago.
The Argentine is set for a significant spell on the sidelines, however, having suffered a recurrence of the ankle injury that kept him out for the second half of last season.
With Martinez’s injury concerns piling up, veterans Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans into the latter stages of their careers and the uncertain future of Harry Maguire, United could do much worse than taking a look at Guehi – who clearly has the backing of one of their former players.