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3 months ago
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Sky Sports pundit Clinton Morrison has been talking about the Marc Guehi situation.
As things stand, Newcastle United having had four offers rejected.
Crystal Palace knocking back the latest one in recent days, which was widely reported as set to rival or even exceed, the NUFC transfer record of £63m (£59m transfer fee and £4m potential future add-ons) that was paid for Alexander Isak in August 2022.
Clinton Morrison is an ex-player of theirs, so no wonder he looks at this from a Crystal Palace perspective.
However, I still don’t think this excuses his cluelessness when it comes to what he says about the Marc Guehi situation.
Clinton Morrison talking to Sky Sports about the potential Marc Guehi transfer to Newcastle United – 19 August 2024:
“The [Crystal Palace] chairman [Steve Parish] can do what he wants.
“Marc Guehi has two years left on his contract.
“He went to the Euros and was one of England’s best players.
“Steve Parish is playing an unbelievable blinder.
“Everyone had doubts about Marc Guehi when Harry Maguire got injured, then he came in and was sensational for England.
“He’s a brilliant centre-back.
“He leads by example and I think he is comfortable in possession.
“Steve Parish knows Newcastle have a lot of money and thinks ‘we don’t have to sell him. We have already lost one of our prized assets in Michael Olise. Why do we want to lose Marc Guehi?’
“Everyone has a price on their head.
“It could be £70-75m.
“Me, personally, and it’s only because I want him to stay at Crystal Palace, I would say you have to pay £100m.
“But that is not going to happen.
“It will probably be £75m.
“Fair play to Steve Parish, he doesn’t have to accept the bid from Newcastle United.
“It probably will eventually happen because he is a top defender and Newcastle United is a huge football club.”
Clinton Morrison isn’t the brightest and wearing his Palace tinted specs, doesn’t help either.
Any fool/Premier League chairman can keep turning down bids for a player, but the only way that it can ever be seen as ‘playing a blinder’, is if a club eventually pays daft money.
As for the idea that Crystal Palace hold all the cards on this Marc Guehi situation, that is simply not the case.
Marc Guehi has repeatedly refused to sign a new extended Crystal Palace contract and that won’t change, as he clearly is desperate to move on.
The 24 year old now has only 22 months left on his Palace deal and no club wants to have their biggest asset not sold in this window, then going to a position in January where he only has 18 months left on his contract. Marc Guehi even potentially then thinking, well I only have to wait another year and a half, leave for nothing and double my financial deal at a new club.
Clinton Morrison also failing to mention that a significant issue for Palace and why they are desperate to try and get more money for their best player, is that Chelsea will be taking a large slice of whatever transfer fee is paid, if that indeed happens.
Marc Guehi did impress in the summer with England but they played (and struggled against!) poor to average teams until outclassed and outplayed by Spain, the first decent quality side they met.
If Newcastle United are buying Marc Guehi, it will be based on his impressive levels in the Premier League last season.
However, any value on a central defender surely has limits, Alexander Isak is one of the best strikers in the world, doing easily the most difficult job, scoring and making goals. He cost £63m, whilst Bruno £41m and Gordon £45m, if Clinton Morrison honestly thinks Marc Guehi is worth £100m, then he is dafter than he looks.
As for the talk of ‘everyone knows Newcastle United have a lot of money’, well everybody who has a clue about anything, also knows that having a lot of money AND being able to spend it, are not always the same things in the Premier League as things currently stand.
PSR means Newcastle United need to spend their money very wisely and difficult to see how going much further beyond what they have already offered, would be any kind of a sensible idea.
Finally, by continuing to refuse to compromise with Newcastle United, Crystal Palace are running another big risk. Marc Guehi played at the weekend and was poor in the defeat to Brentford, if he keeps on playing and gets injured or doesn’t pick up his form (he wouldn’t be the first player this happens to, especially after playing so much football and coming off the back of a big tournament), then his value will only go one way, the same as his Palace contract which is ticking ever more loudly down.

 
