Defender can’t wait to get started; injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol forced transfer
Marc Guehi has completed his £20m move to Manchester City, after City opted to pay Crystal Palace a relatively small fee to sign the player six months before his contract expiration.
Guehi was targeted by several clubs in England and abroad, particularly Liverpool, who attempted to sign him last summer but saw the deal break down during the medical stage. The England defender joins Antoine Semenyo as City’s second signing of a wanted player this January.
“I am really happy and incredibly proud to be a Manchester City player,” Guehi said. “This move feels like the culmination of all the hard work I have put into my career. I am now at the best club in England and part of an unbelievable squad of players.
Guehi was a youth team player at Chelsea and the club will be due 20% of the fee, as part of the agreement through which he joined Palace in 2021.
“I love football – it has given me so much for so long – and to be able to continue my development at Manchester City is a really special moment for me and my family,” Guehi added.
“I absolutely cannot wait to get started now. I want to meet my teammates, train hard, understand what the manager expects of me and then show the City fans what I can do.”
City signed Guehi after injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol depleted their backline. In the Manchester derby on Sunday, the club fielded youngster Max Alleyne alongside the inexperienced Abdukodir Khusanov.
City’s director of football Hugo Viana said: “It is clear Marc has been one of the best defenders in English football for quite some time now, so we are absolutely delighted to bring him to Manchester City.
“Marc is entering the prime years of his career. I am sure every City fan is excited to see how good he can be in a sky-blue shirt.”
The 25-year-old’s departure was not well received by everyone at Palace. Manager Oliver Glasner was frustrated at his captain’s sale in the middle of the season, describing it as having “your heart torn out”.
“We feel that we’re being abandoned,” Glasner said in criticism of the Palace board. “There’s no support. Everybody’s disappointed. We’ve been playing with 12 to 13 players for weeks now. On the bench [against Sunderland] I had just kids.”
