Crystal Palace have acknowledged that captain Marc Guéhi could leave the club during the January transfer window if the right financial offer is made.
Speaking ahead of the Premier League meeting with Aston Villa, manager Oliver Glasner laid bare the difficult position facing the south London club, admitting that the defender’s contract situation may force Palace into a decision that balances ambition with economic reality.
Guéhi, who has emerged as one of the most sought-after centre-backs in Europe, is entering the final months of his deal, which is due to expire in the summer.
His growing reputation has inevitably drawn interest from elite clubs, leaving Palace exposed to the risk of losing their skipper for nothing if a solution is not found.
Glasner did not attempt to soften the message.
Addressing the issue in an interview with News Shopper, the Austrian coach said: “There’s a possibility the contract will end this summer. If someone else comes in, there will come a point where the club will say: now, the financial aspect is more important than the sporting one.”
The remark underlined the limits of Palace’s negotiating position.
While the club would prefer to retain Guéhi as the cornerstone of their defence, Glasner made it clear that loyalty alone cannot override the club’s financial obligations.
He went on to explain the criteria that would shape any potential departure.
“If the player says: I want to leave and the offer exceeds this threshold, the sale will take place,” he said, indicating that both the player’s wishes and a valuation set internally by the club will determine the outcome.
In perhaps his most revealing admission, Glasner acknowledged that Palace could not stand in the way of a truly significant bid from one of the Premier League’s wealthiest sides.
“I am not naive enough to ignore that if City makes a colossal offer and Marc is willing to leave, the transfer will happen.”
Those words have been interpreted as a warning rather than a negotiating tactic.
Guéhi, an Anglo-Ivorian defender who has captained Palace with authority, is seen as central to Glasner’s project.
Yet the club’s manager accepts that modern football economics leave little room for sentiment when contracts are running down and elite clubs are circling.
For Palace supporters, the comments will be unsettling.
The club has made steady progress in recent seasons, and Guéhi has become a symbol of that stability.
His departure midway through the campaign would represent not just the loss of a top performer, but also a blow to the dressing-room hierarchy.
At the same time, the reality of the market means Palace must prepare for every eventuality.
With the January window now open, the club is walking a narrow path: attempting to convince their captain to stay while remaining open to an offer that could prove too valuable to refuse.
Palace’s immediate focus remains on their upcoming league fixture against Aston Villa, which will be their 21st match of the Premier League season.
The betting company 1xbet offers the following odds for the encounter: Crystal Palace to win at 3.10, a draw at 3.30, and Aston Villa to win at 2.30.
Behind the scenes, however, attention is already shifting to Guéhi’s future.
Whether he remains at Selhurst Park beyond January may ultimately depend not on sentiment or ambition, but on numbers written into a contract and the size of an offer placed on the table.
