Marc Guehi to REJECT offer of new Crystal Palace contract after Liverpool deadline day move blocked

Guehi had already agreed personal terms with the Premier League champions, putting pen to paper on a proposed five-year deal, and was even waiting inside Liverpool’s London offices as the deal appeared set to go through. But Palace, under heavy internal pressure from manager Oliver Glasner, abruptly ended the negotiations despite having accepted Liverpool’s bid. The decision left the defender bitterly disappointed and is now unwilling to sign an extension with the Eagles, as revealed by The Times. 

Glasner, desperate not to lose his captain without securing a replacement, dug in his heels. Chairman Steve Parish, who had previously admitted that letting star players leave for free was 'far from ideal', eventually sided with his manager. Now, with just one year left on his contract, Guehi will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs in January, while also keeping alive the possibility of completing his Anfield switch on a free next summer.

Palace’s stubborn stance is not new. The club had previously snubbed bids from Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, each worth in excess of £65 million ($87m), in the past two transfer windows. By refusing those lucrative offers and then pulling the plug on Liverpool’s £35m ($47m) deal, Palace have effectively gambled on keeping Guehi for another season, but now risk losing him for nothing.

For Glasner, the Guehi saga is the latest in a series of frustrations. The 51-year-old has repeatedly clashed with the board over their sluggish transfer activity, warning that his squad is too thin to compete both in the Premier League and the UEFA Conference League.

Glasner wanted fresh reinforcements, particularly at centre-back, but Palace’s recruitment drive failed spectacularly. Igor Julio, heavily linked with a switch from Brighton, instead moved to West Ham on deadline day. Efforts to lure Ousmane Diomande from Sporting Lisbon and Yann Bisseck from Inter also collapsed. Those failures left Glasner furious, as he had expected at least one high-profile defensive arrival to soften the blow of Guehi’s departure.