How Man City Beat Liverpool to the Signing of Marc Guehi?

Manchester City have signed Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi in a January transfer move that has stunned the Premier League, beating Liverpool to sign the English defender and leaving the Anfield outfit empty-handed. According to transfer experts, including the best football journalist Fabrizio Romano, the signing has been completed in a low-cost transfer.

Cityzens, who have already signed Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth for 64 million pounds, are facing a major injury crisis which forced the Premier League champions to act swiftly on Marc Guehi transfer and agree on a proposed 20 million pound deal for the England defender, who is among the top 10 defenders in the Premier League.

Liverpool’s Missed Opportunity

For Liverpool supporters, Marc Guehi transfer is a hard reality to accept. The Reds had agreed to a transfer deal worth 35 million pounds in September on deadline day over the summer transfer window. This deal collapsed because Palace failed to secure a replacement on time.

However, their plan changed to sign him when his contract expired in June 2026 through a free transfer. Unfortunately, their strategy failed since it appears that Liverpool Football Club has decided not to offer a competing bid to City this month but to stick to their strategy and value. This has left space for City to make their move in the Marc Guehi news cycle.

The Decisive Factor: City's Defensive Crisis

Even as Liverpool were open to waiting for their own needs, circumstances forced Manchester City to act on their urgent requirements with haste. The current situation for Pep Guardiola’s team includes a defence that has Ruben Dias, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol on the Man City injury list.

The latest Marc Guehi news confirms the swift action by the City board to sign the defender for an initial fee as low as 20 million pounds in this Marc Guehi transfer. The aggressive move enabled them to evade Liverpool, as the latter chose to wait until next summer to sign the defender as a free agent.

An immediate payment to Crystal Palace, which was set to lose its captain without any fee in six months, made the deal a “take it or leave it” situation, which Palace could not afford to decline.

Marc Guehi Contract: By The Numbers

Marc Guehi Man City contract reportedly includes a long-term deal that sees the England international earn roughly around 200,000 to 300,000 pounds a week, a substantial increase from his pay at Palace. Regarding the transfer fee itself, Marc Guehi news suggests that Manchester City has secured the services of the center-back for an unexpectedly low base fee of £ 20 million, potentially rising to £ 30 million depending on various performance-related add-ons.

The Marc Guehi Man City contract also has wider implications, with Chelsea set to pocket around 4 million pounds thanks to a 20% sell-on clause, a detail that complicated the financials for other suitors but was swiftly navigated by City to finalize the Marc Guehi transfer ahead of the competition.