Newcastle are facing defeat in their attempts to sign Marc Guéhi from Crystal Palace, who are holding firm in their asking price of about £70m for the England centre-back.
Palace have remained resolute in their valuation of Guéhi, who played in six of England’s seven games at Euro 2024, and Newcastle are increasingly pessimistic about their chances of landing their top defensive target before the transfer window shuts on Friday night. Talks between the clubs are not over but there is no sign of a compromise being reached on a fee.
Steve Parish, Palace’s chairman, set out his stall this month by saying Newcastle would need to pay “superstar money” to sign Guéhi. Newcastle are believed to be unwilling to go above £65m and they have been linked with defenders RB Leipzig’s Mohamed Simakan and Chelsea’s Axel Disasi.
The risk for Palace is they are missing out on their last opportunity to cash in on Guéhi, who joined from Chelsea three years ago. The 24-year-old has two years on his contract and does not intend to sign an extension. Palace will not be in as strong a negotiating position next summer and there is a danger they will lose Guéhi on a free.
Palace have sold Michael Olise to Bayern Munich this summer and are keen not to lose another key player. They appear likely to hold on to the England midfielder Eberechi Eze and have generated funds by selling the Denmark defender Joachim Andersen to Fulham for about £30m. Palace are poised to replace Andersen by signing Maxence Lacroix from Wolsburg.
Newcastle have had a quiet summer and their lack of activity will raise doubts over their ability to challenge for European qualification.
