'I'm really convinced' - Oliver Glasner lifts lid on Marc Guehi's mental state after Giovanni Leoni injury refuels Liverpool January transfer speculation

After Guehi stayed put at Palace, despite Liverpool's deadline day approach, Bayern Munich have entered the race to sign the centre-back, although the former Chelsea man may have his sights set on Real Madrid. Los Blancos are said to be keen on bringing him to Santiago Bernabeu next summer when he will be a free agent, but the Reds may try and move for him in January - something the Eagles could be open to so that they at least secure a fee for him.

The Merseyside outfit have captain Virgil van Dijk as their defensive talisman, and Ibrahima Konate has ably supported him in recent times, but with summer signing and understudy Giovanni Leoni suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury this week, Guehi has swiftly come up on Liverpool's radar again. Whether he would join Arne Slot's side, who are a bit short of defensive options right now, for the second half of the season remains to be seen.

The Austrian did concede that Guehi was a tad disheartened that his Liverpool transfer did not come to pass, but his attitude and commitment to the cause for the Eagles has been exemplary. 

He told reporters: "I have no concerns at all [about Guehi]. I'm completely convinced, and I mention this quite often, as long as Marc is playing for Crystal Palace, he will be playing with 100 per cent. This is what I expect tomorrow [against Liverpool].

"I'm really convinced that he will show this again. He's an amazing player, he's in amazing shape. So I expect a great game from him. Of course, I had a conversation with Marc but I think you will expect it to maybe have been more or longer, it was really a very short conversation because it was easy. We talked before, we talked at the end of last season, we talked in off-season, we talked in the pre-season, and of course we talked after the transfer window closed but it was a five-minute conversation.

"On the other side, I'm really wondering why it's so outstanding if you stick to an agreement, it also shows you maybe what kind of times we are living in. If you sign a contract, let's say the normal thing is you stick to your contract, so we are praised for doing what we have to do, I think it's more the opposite, we should blame people who don't stick to their agreement.

"Of course he was a little bit disappointed at the beginning but he said 'no, it's fine, I like being here, I like the team, I like the staff, I like Crystal Palace, I'm a south London boy, it's all good, I will give my best,' and this is exactly what I knew would happen."

The Palace manager, who has guided his side to a 17-match unbeaten run, admitted he is a bit fed up with all the Guehi transfer speculation. But he acknowledges that it will undoubtedly come up in the January transfer window.

"Again, [the move to Liverpool] is gone. The window is closed, fortunately, so he's completely focused on Crystal Palace, on his performance and our performance and like always, it's good to have him as a captain," the Eagles boss said.

"I'm not talking about transfer discussions. We had this for three or four months, and it really made me tired. I don't want to talk about it. I know in January it will be again for one month. Even when I think about it, it makes me tired. So let's talk about this great game, the FA Cup winners against the Premier League. That's more important than all the other stuff."

The England international will get a chance to show Liverpool what they are missing when Palace host the Premier League holders and early-season pacesetters at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon. If the Eagles win this weekend and results go their way, they could go second in the table.