CRYSTAL PALACE chairman Steve Parish admits he will have to sell captain Marc Guehi this month if the club receive a good enough offer.
Parish punctured the air of celebration around Selhurst Park following Sunday’s Community Shield victory over Liverpool by suggesting Palace’s England centre-back will leave this month.
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Arne Slot’s Premier League champions – defeated on penalties by Palace after a 2-2 draw at Wembley – are favourites to sign £60million-rated Guehi, with Newcastle having bid for the 25-year-old former Chelsea man last season.
Guehi has only a year left on his Palace contract, has so far refused to sign a new deal and could leave for free next summer unless Parish cashes in now.
Asked if Guehi will leave this month for the right fee, Parish said: “Yes, yes. Of course, for players of that calibre to leave on a free, it is a problem for a football club.
“There is no doubt about it, unfortunately. Joachim Andersen went (to Fulham last summer) and we couldn’t afford to lose both of them.
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“We then had another bid (for Guehi) in January but that was a difficult decision as well.
“We will just have to see what happens. It needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind.
“It is a really tough one. We will do everything we can in the next few weeks to give ourselves the best chance.
“I am aware we are in four competitions this season. But the money we have is not infinite.”
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Parish says the FA Cup holders are still paying “crazy” money in instalments for players they already have.
Palace have not made any major signings this summer but have so far managed to keep hold of their Cup-winning team – although Guehi and fellow England star Eberechi Eze are both attracting significant interest.
The Eagles co-owner said: “In the end, people trade players. That is what football clubs do.
“Of course, if you don’t care about tomorrow ever and put it all off, we are a fantastic team. If we had four more players, I don’t know what we could achieve.
“Unfortunately, it is not always as simple as that. We have got a lot of outgoings this year because we are paying a lot of transfer fees for players that we have already got.
“If you see the fees, they are just nuts. The money we are paying, crazy.
“We will do whatever we can. We won’t stop working. But as far as people being here or not being here, it depends.
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“If it is the right decision for the football club and for them, there will be changes. But we have got to make smart ones.”
Palace are awaiting the verdict of their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport at 11am today after they were demoted by Uefa from the Europa League to the Conference League over a dual-ownership technicality.
Whatever the outcome, manager Oliver Glasner is frustrated by Palace’s lack of signings in the current window – as well as the prospect of losing Guehi, and possibly Eze, before the September 1 transfer deadline.
But Parish says he is a huge admirer of the Austrian and respects his ambition.
Parish said: “Oliver is the conductor of the orchestra and he does such an amazing job. He is so positive.
“He said to me before (the Community Shield), ‘I have watched Liverpool and we will score two goals. I don’t know if we can keep them out but we will score two goals.’
“I admire Oliver so much. He just wants to win trophies. I don’t mind if he wants to do that and I think someone at the football club should do that.”
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