Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi named as Alexander Isak transfer saga takes another twist
Marc Guehi has been the subject of transfer speculation all summer and has behaved impeccably, unlike one big name target.
The transfer saga of the summer looked like being Bryan Mbeumo’s protracted move to Manchester United only for Liverpool to bid for Alexander Isak and put the cat amongst the pigeons.
Despite daily and almost hourly updates from the usual suspects, nothing has really changed all summer. The Magpies have a £150m valuation and unless Liverpool meet that, the Sweden international will be staying put, whether the player likes it or not. That Eddie Howe has yet to sign a replacement is also a key factor and it is only a surprise that Newcastle haven’t taken a harder stance in the matter.
Tony Cascarino praises Marc Guehi as Alexander Isak downs tools
It is a point that former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino made on Talksport at the weekend where he used Crystal Palace centre-half Marc Guehi as an example of how a player should conduct themselves when there is interest from another club.
“Yeah, I know you want your move,” Cascarino opened, “And if the move is right for us, you have three years on a contract or you have one year left on your contract. Think of the players.
“I'll give you an example. No one talks about him this summer. Mark Guehi has been kept at Crystal Palace, OK? Newcastle came in last year (as did Spurs in January). He ended up having a really good season with Crystal Palace last year, never rocked the boat, never slammed in, as far as I know. He might have been unhappy with the scenario that they didn't allow him to be sold, but we're not hearing in the newspapers, well, he's not training, he's not turning up.
“Now, you can't just do things because you haven't got your way. So, if clubs accept that, then you're going to pay the price. So, I think you have to use some of the weapons you have as a football club to stop this behaviour as well, where players can just go, no, I'm not going in, I'm not training. And if a player is not on the training ground, a manager should have the right, if he's not training properly, tell him to go in.”
Why Palace should do the right thing for Guehi
Cascarino is right. Footballers are easy targets in terms of criticising them, however, on this occasion, enough isn’t being said about Guehi’s behaviour over the last 12-months. The England international has seen a host of clubs enquire about his services and offers being made to Palace only for him to have to stay put. Not once did he complain. Instead, he led the club to an historic FA Cup win and into Europe.
This summer has been no different, even as his contract ticks down and Liverpool circle, there haven’t been any rumblings about pushing for a move or moaning about what Palace value him at.
If he sees out the rest of his contract, he won’t have any issues staying at the club, but if he gets the chance to multiply his contract by several amounts and play for one of the biggest teams in Europe, then he will leave with the club’s best wishes.
At a time when players are stomping their feet because they don’t want to do what the manager tells them and Isak is demanding to be sold despite his club not having another no.9, players like Guehi should be held up as an example to them as a reminder of how to conduct themselves.