Crystal Palace could sign their next Marc Guéhi as three ideal transfer replacements emerge
Crystal Palace are being linked with three different defenders as they prepare to replace Marc Guéhi - but who should they sign?
Few Premier League sides will have to fill a hole to quite as large as the one Crystal Palace will next summer when they lose Marc Guéhi. The England defender seems certain to depart on a free transfer when his contract comes to an end, and much of Palace’s ability to capitalise on their progress under Oliver Glasner will depend on how well they replace their best player.
Palace have been very good at handling the loss of key players in recent years. Whether it’s Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise or Eberechi Eze, the club have moved on, used the money sensibly, and continued getting better – but can they repeat the trick with a new centre-back?
As Palace inch towards the day on which they need to open their chequebook up and purchase a replacement for Guéhi, three names are cropping up on the rumour mill – three defenders who are on the shortlist and might just be auditioning for a move to Selhurst Park next summer. But which would be the best signing?
Ousmane Diomande
Crystal Palace were heavily interested in the Sporting defender over the summer and many media outlets reported that they even had a transfer deal in place – but that proved to be false, and the two sides were unable to find a price they could both agree upon. That could easily change a year down the line.
The Ivorian defender’s contract expires in 2027, meaning that his current club will either need to sell next summer or face losing him at a reduced price further down the line. That should put Palace in a better negotiating position – not that Sporting are always the easiest to strike a deal with. Just ask Arsenal and Viktor Gyökeres.
The 22-year-old remains very comfortable on the ball, is an impressive physical presence at the back and, at 22, has plenty of time to develop and sand off his few rough edges. Having missed much of the early part of the season through injury, Diomande has been getting back up to speed at a promising pace. If financial issues don’t scupper a deal yet again, he’s perhaps Palace’s preferred option, and likely has the highest ceiling.
Odilon Kossounou
Diomande isn’t the only Ivorian on Palace’s radar – his international team-mate Kossounou, who has cut and impressive figure for Atalanta in Serie A over the past 18 months, is also alleged to be a target by sources in Italy.
No talks have taken place and it’s hard to gauge how firm Palace’s interest is at this point in time, but it’s easy to see why they might see the 24-year-old as a natural replacement for Guéhi. Like their current defender, he’s strong, has excellent positional judgement and uses the ball – and is showing definite signs of growth, with his one-on-one defending being one area of noticeable improvement over the last year or so.
Already a league champion with former club Bayer Leverkusen, Kossounou offers a good balance between potential and experience and looks like he should be easy to integrate into Glasner’s system, assuming the head coach remains in place come the summer. If only that were guaranteed.
Maxime Estève
It’s only five months since the Frenchman signed a new five-year contract with Burnley, a consideration which surely makes him the least obtainable of Palace’s alleged targets – but if Burnley end up getting relegated, which is of course a distinct possibility, then Estève could well be available for the right price.
Most of the stories centred on Palace’s interest in Estève come from the summer, when they seemed to have the centre-back on their shortlist before he penned a new deal at Turf Moor. Since then, he has been an addendum to transfer stories concerning other players, rather than a focal point. The link between Palace and Estève is certainly more tenuous than it appears to be with Diomande and Kossounou.
He's also less comfortable on the ball and has a less impressive passing range than the alternatives proposed and while certainly a solid and reliable centre-back, Glasner may well prefer to get his hands on someone who mirrors Guéhi’s technical profile a little more closely.
In our opinion, a move for Estève is less likely than one for the other two players being linked with a move to Selhurst Park – and would probably make a little less sense, although they would at least be getting their hands on a player with Premier League experience. Diomande and Kossounou seem like better matches for the system, however, and could be the kind of players who make it just a little easier to forget about Guéhi once he’s gone. An awful lot of deliberation and negotiation lies ahead, however.