Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner suggested on the record that the club may have to consider selling Marc Guéhi in the January window if circumstances demand it. The prospect of an exit has grown since the summer, when a potential move to Liverpool collapsed after Igor Julio opted to join West Ham on loan rather than heading to Selhurst Park, leaving Guéhi to remain and refocus on Palace duties.

It is now public that Guéhi will not sign a new contract at Palace. That fact leaves last season’s FA Cup winners with two clear options: attempt to sell in January and secure funds now, or retain him through the 2025/26 campaign to help produce the best possible finish and seek a replacement in the summer transfer market.

Palace initially appeared to have taken a firm stance that Guéhi was not for sale, accepting the risk of losing the England centre back on a free at the end of his deal. That position shifted after Manchester City, the eight-time Premier League champions, began searching for reinforcements following injuries to Josko Gvardiol and Rúben Dias. With many expecting City to bid, Glasner was asked whether such a move would represent a match for the player and the club.

“If a player feels too good for a club, it is better to sell him, and if a player is not good enough for a club, you also have to sell him,” Glasner said. When prompted about City specifically he added: “It could be. I’m not so naïve as not to know that if a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.”

Glasner expanded on the club’s dilemma with a financial analogy: “Nothing in life is one-dimensional,” Glasner added. “Let’s say you have a nice car but you need money because it’s cold and a window [at home] is broken, and somebody offers you crazy money for your car. You say, ‘No, I don’t want to sell my car. I love my car. But I don’t want to freeze.’ Then you say, ‘If I can get the window and even a new roof, you can have the car. But I would like to keep it.’

“It’s the same with Marc. Everybody wants him to play for Crystal Palace, sign a new contract and stay here for ever. On the other side, the contract ends this summer and if somebody is coming and you are freezing, there will be a moment when the club says, ‘Now the financial issue is more important than the sporting issue and we have to do it.’

“There will be a threshold where if Marc says he wants to leave and the money is above the threshold, it will happen.”

Manchester City have emerged as a likely active suitor for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi should their recent injury problems become long term. Guéhi has six months left on his contract and will not extend it; he had been expected to remain at Palace for the rest of the season, a position confirmed by Oliver Glasner in mid-December.

The urgency at City comes after both of Pep Guardiola’s starting centre backs were forced off in the second half of a 1–1 draw with a manager-less Chelsea side on Sunday. Josko Gvardiol pulled up in the 51st minute and had to be helped from the pitch by a physio and Chelsea captain Reece James. Rúben Dias departed around half an hour later. Guardiola warned that “it doesn’t look good” and predicted the pair would be out “for a few weeks.”

He added: “We have a lot [of injuries],” he fretted. “John Stones is missing for I don’t know how many months. Rúben now will be out, Josko will be out. Nathan [Aké], always we know with Nathan he cannot play regularly. It’s the situation.

“Stay strong and we will find a solution. The spirit is there and will be there. Of course I have concerns. Have you seen the bench today? Four players from the academy and now we will have more. We don’t have players.”

That solution could involve January investment. City were linked with Guéhi last month; Liverpool were thought to retain a strong interest and appeared to be the only party prepared to bid in January. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona were understood to be interested only in a free transfer in the summer. According to BBC Sport, should Dias and/or Gvardiol face long-term absences, City would be prepared to accelerate their pursuit of Guéhi.

Concern about defensive depth was already evident when City recalled academy defender Max Alleyne from his loan at Watford. The 20-year-old had made six consecutive league starts for the Hornets over the festive period, producing a trio of clean sheets.

FotMob’s ratings singled out five players whose individual displays defined Premier League Gameweek 20.

Jack Grealish was a bright spot in Manchester City’s 4–2 defeat to Brentford at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The loanee produced two delightful deliveries to tee up Beto and Thierno Barry for consolation strikes and completed more dribbles (four) than anyone on the pitch. He also led the match for chances created (four). There was very little for the crowd to enjoy in a miserable loss to the Bees, but Grealish “didn’t deserve to be on the losing team.”

John McGinn was the key architect of Aston Villa’s 3–1 win over Nottingham Forest. The indefatigable Scotsman scored a brace, the first a well-placed finish from inside the area to double the home side’s advantage and the second a remarkable long-range effort aided by a disastrous piece of goalkeeping. Scoring twice from an expected goals total of 0.45 underlined the quality of his contribution. Strangely, this was McGinn’s first double at club level since a 3–1 victory over Forest in the Championship in 2018–19.

Malick Thiaw continued to impress for Newcastle United, scoring his third Premier League goal in a 2–0 victory over Crystal Palace. The summer recruit was an absolute colossus defensively, registering a game-high 17 defensive contributions, including five tackles and 10 clearances, helping secure a clean sheet. His speed and physicality were crucial in thwarting Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Declan Rice overcame doubts over an injury to start for Arsenal and was central to a 3–2 win over Bournemouth. He delivered two composed finishes, bending a low effort beyond Djordje Petrović for Arsenal’s second and calmly converting Bukayo Saka’s pull back for what proved to be the winning goal. Rice’s all-action midfield display included 14 defensive contributions, and he was only out-passed by two players in the contest.