- 23 hours ago
Why Guehi is making the RIGHT decision over Man Utd move
Jacque Talbot
- Updated: 3 Aug 2024 20:17 BST
- 4 min read
England’s Euro 2024 campaign came to a bitter end once again. Despite many laboured performances, the Three Lions managed to drag their way to the final, only to be beaten by deserved winners Spain.
Many aspects of Gareth Southgate’s campaign have been panned and ridiculed, but no one can deny that the former Middlesbrough manager has presided over a crop of young players whose genial temperament is like nothing we have ever seen before from an England side.
None more so than Marc Guehi anyway. The delicately-spoken Crystal Palace defender’s displays in Germany yielded acclaim from fans and pundits alike. Boasting a passing accuracy of 93% on average and four recoveries per 90 minutes, but what was the most remarkable was that he was never dispossessed throughout the 570 minutes he played in the tournament.
Guehi, who made his major tournament debut at 23, was described by Jude Bellingham after the opening game win against Serbia as ‘unbelievable’. Southgate said: “He reads the game well, uses the ball well (and) was aggressive in challenges. This game was a big test, and he came through really strongly.”
This is nothing new to Palace fans, of course, who know Guehi has always had great talent and maturity. But when a personality is not brash it tends only to be noticed by those who follow their club.
Current ETV
Marc Guéhi
D (C)
C. Palace
Marc Guéhi
D (C)
C. Palace
ETV Range
€27.4M - €45.7M
Links with a move away from Selhurst Park are nothing new. There have long been murmurs that those at Manchester United, in particular Ineos, are admirers of the 24-year-old. But a bombshell report from The Athletic revealed that talks were in place between Newcastle and Guehi.
The Telegraph subsequently reported that the publication of David Ornstein’s story was to flush out further interest from other clubs. There is credence to that given the ties to the player’s agency and the outlet in question. Even still, Newcastle supporters are not hopeful of a deal coming to fruition.
How Marc Guehi would work at Newcastle
In terms of playing style, development and game time, Scisports shows that Guehi would be better served at St James’ Park than with Erik ten Hag's team. He would be playing amid a number of centre-backs already at the club while Newcastle would likely split Guehi’s game time in half with Fabian Schar.
The Swiss is a solid defender but his real qualities lie in progressing the ball and making runs into the box. With Guehi at the club, Sven Botman, once he returns from injury, would be likely asked to take up that role but on the opposite side. The Dutchman possess great passing range and can break the lines with ease.
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Guehi is much better in the build-up phase and at traditional defending, though can also take up being the line-breaker when asked. The centre-back made 3.78 accurate long balls per 90 minutes at Palace, acting in tandem with Joachim Andersen.
However, Guehi is susceptible to aerial duels, averaging just 1.29 headers won in a game. So being alongside Lisandro Martinez, Man Utd would be left wide open to opposition crosses.
A move away from London to the north might be hard to pull off for Newcastle, especially as they are out of Europe this season. The most likely scenrio is that Guehi spends another season at Palace and sees what opportunities lie in the 2025 window. But who knows what their new sporting director, Paul Mitchell, has up his sleeve.
