Peter Crouch believes it is only a matter of time before Marc Guehi leaves Crystal Palace after the Eagles rejected summer approaches from Newcastle.
Guehi’s stock skyrocketed after an impressive Euro 2024 campaign that saw him star in an England side that went all the way to the final before being beaten by Spain.
His performances prompted Newcastle to name his as the club’s top summer transfer target, launching several attempts to wrangle him away from Palace with the final offer in excess of £65m.
Palace stood firm as club chairman Steve Parish opted to keep hold of the 24-year-old whose contract at Selhurst Park runs until June 2026, but Newcastle are expected to come back in for the star.
Mail Sport revealed that Magpies boss Eddie Howe is likely to instruct the club’s transfer chiefs to make another offer in January with the expectation that Palace will be more willing to sell.
Peter Crouch believes it is only a matter of time before Marc Guehi (pictured) leaves Crystal Palace
Guehi has been the subject of interest from both Liverpool and Newcastle after an impressive year of performances
Former Liverpool and Tottenham star, Crouch, hailed Guehi’s performances at the London club and admitted that he expects the defender to eventually leave.
‘I think, you know, that was a big, big call for this football club [Palace] to keep hold of him. Newcastle I think came in with 70 million, it was their number one target,’ Crouch told TNT Sports.
‘It went on all summer, yeah. I think Guehi will go, I think they’ll really struggle to keep hold of him, a few clubs like Liverpool coming in for him as well. I think he’s done well to kind of get on with it.
‘There was a lot of interest after the Euros for him, but, you know, he’s got his head down. He’s getting on with it, and he’s got to do his job for palace,’ he added.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea and Liverpool icon, Joe Cole, believes Guehi is already staking a claim as England’s best centre-back and labelled the youngster as a ‘leader’,
Magpies boss Eddie Howe (pictured) previously made Guehi the club’s top transfer target
Crouch (pictured) revealed that he expects Guehi to eventually move to another club
Praising Guehi, Cole said: ‘He could have been England’s best player at the Euros. He he went by quietly doing his thing.
‘I coached him and saw a very, very good player. I always asked the center half and Joleon Lescott was full of praise for him. This was two, three years ago, when he was sort of on the brink. But he’s so assured.
‘He’s so calm, if you look at him, he’s never ruffled. And he’s, he’s, I think he’s at that stage where he’s cut out a lot of the mistakes already. So he’s getting better and better.
‘He’s a leader. He’s, he’s captain the side. He’s a top, top player. I think he’s England’s, if not, number one, number two, centre half John stones and Mark Guehi. Now I think they’ve solidified that. So I think he’s top, top drawer,’ added Cole.