Aggressive and no-nonsense, Manchester City were ruthless in pursuit of Marc Guehi and hope those attributes are exactly what their new central defender will bring at a time when uncertainty is spreading dangerously across Pep Guardiola’s backline.
There was only one team in for Guehi this month. Like the other heavyweights involved – Liverpool and Bayern Munich in particular – City had planned to wait until the summer, when a Bosman was in play. They felt confident in their pitch, led by director of football Hugo Viana, and believed the England international would choose them on a free transfer.
But Chelsea changed things. Accelerated the need. Josko Gvardiol breaking his leg and Ruben Dias suffering the sort of muscle injury that comes with fatigue – the Portuguese having played every minute of eight games in a month, outside of a Carabao Cup quarter-final – during that draw meant City were at the table alone.
A fortnight later, a Ryanair flight was erroneously edging out onto the runway at Manchester Airport as Guehi’s private jet, hired from a firm in Cheltenham, prepared to land and the £20million signing was forced into a scenic lap of the skies above his new surroundings. The stuff on the pitch is expected to go far smoother.
Around 36 hours earlier, Guehi had sat down for an emotionally charged final interview as Crystal Palace captain. His gratitude for the supporters and staff across five seasons at Selhurst Park was not a surprise, although the way in which that was articulated – the 25-year-old uncharacteristically struggling to hold it together – indicated the depth of feeling he has for a club that moulded him into Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice defender going into the World Cup.
The way in which Guehi left Palace has only enhanced his reputation across the country. City have themselves another leader, albeit a quieter sort who deferred the speech inside Palace’s dressing room before last year’s FA Cup final to Joel Ward and who prefers to let actions do the talking.
To illustrate that, Guehi drove an initiative with Palace's charitable arm, the Palace for Life Foundation, to put on two-hour leadership workshops in schools and is said to have been somewhat frustrated with the publicity that came with it.
‘All Marc wants to do is do good by people without the recognition for it,’ one source told Daily Mail Sport.
Other than the obvious, that has left Oliver Glasner bereft, this is what Palace will miss and City are likely to capitalise on. It might have been Liverpool had Palace not called the £35m deal off on September’s deadline day. Or even Newcastle United, who bid up to £65m a year earlier.
Guardiola now has somebody whose calmness permeates and, for next season, three world-class centre halves alongside somebody with all the raw materials to become one in Abdukodir Khusanov.
During his in-house interview, Guehi spoke of how penning the five-and-a-half-year deal at the Etihad Stadium was a ‘relief’. How being in this part of the world was an ‘honour’. He refused to list any stand-out qualities to his game.
This move, this moment, is the culmination of a carefully planned career. Two loan spells at Swansea City – the first not without complications, including the outbreak of Covid and dashing back home to his family in south London – left him with a decision to make.
Sitting down with his representatives at Unique Sports Group, Guehi opted to turn down the offer of a new contract at Chelsea and head for Palace. Tuchel and some of his Chelsea coaches, it’s believed, took some time to understand that and thought he was unwilling to fight for a place at Stamford Bridge. Turning 21 at this point, Guehi wanted to get going in the Premier League.
It’s served him well, now a man who commands wages that can reach £300,000 a week with achievable bonuses – including qualifying for the Champions League. City sources say his basic wage is significantly less than that but regardless, they committed to a package befitting the country’s strongest defender.
Guehi is for the here and now, to make sure City can fight for trophies this season – seven points behind leaders Arsenal, one foot in the Carabao Cup final, set in the Champions League despite the Bodo/Glimt embarrassment.
But he is also here to form part of the rebuild. John Stones’ contract is expiring and Nathan Ake’s minute are severely reduced. Both have been besieged by injuries over the past 18 months.
‘I see John as a big brother to be honest,’ Guehi said. ‘He’s taken me under his wing for the national team. He’s someone that has looked out for me - especially playing with him at the last Euros - it was amazing. He just makes your life easier because of his understanding of the game and how good he is.’
Before that European Championship, where Guehi and Stones was the defensive pairing as England reached the final, Gareth Southgate was not entirely sure who to partner with the Barnsley Beckenbauer.
Players are said to have breathed a sigh of relief – and discussed that relief – after Guehi’s strong performance in the opener against Serbia. Oddly, they weren’t aware of how good he was. Regardless, he and they never looked back.
The FA knew Guehi’s potential. Part of that Under-17 World Cup winning team nine years ago – a team including new team-mate Phil Foden – Guehi was earmarked for international recognition.
When he was given an Under-21 debut under Aidy Boothroyd away in Turkey having never played a game in senior club football, the FA were impressed at how he handled a tough 3-2 win and a febrile atmosphere. Lee Carsley went on to name him captain after just three Premier League appearances.
‘Straight away I was impressed with how mature he is, the way he talks about the game and influences the players off the pitch,’ Carsley said. ‘The example he sets off the pitch as well as on it made it an easy choice.’
All those years on, Guehi was being asked to stick around Tuchel’s England camp in November despite being injured because his seniority and influence are seen as key. He is watching games with technical director John McDermott.
They want more leadership from him and that is coming, Guehi having previously been wary of stepping on the toes of others.
For a man who still plays the drums at the local church, where his father John is minister, this move north takes him into a different stratosphere. That can only be a good thing for England.