Marc Guehi is a player in high demand, with the Crystal Palace centre-back being tracked by several elite clubs
Marc Guehi could be available in the January transfer window(Image: (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images))
Marc Guehi can play for Liverpool in the FA Cup, should he join the club this month, despite having already represented Crystal Palace. It may come as a surprise to many fans that the defender is eligible to play for another team in this year’s competition, despite him having already made an appearance in it.
Guehi’s FA Cup reprieve comes after Palace boss Oliver Glasner opted to field the England international in their unexpected defeat to Macclesfield on Saturday.
The 25-year-old was handed the captain’s armband for Palace’s visit to the National League North side at the weekend. However, the central defender was unable to prevent Palace from succumbing to one of the most shocking defeats in FA Cup history, losing 2-1 to the Silkmen.
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Guehi’s inclusion in Glasner’s starting lineup sparked worries among Liverpool fans about his eligibility for the FA Cup should he switch clubs during the transfer window.
In the past, the Cup’s regulations prohibited players from playing for more than one team in the competition within a single season, with players typically becoming ‘cup-tied’.
The old rule said: “A player shall only play for one club in the competition during the same season”. However, a new rule, implemented at the start of the season, now allows players to represent two clubs in the tournament.
The regulation states: “Save that a player that has played for one club in the qualifying competition and/or the competition proper may play for a maximum of one other club in the competition proper (but may only play for a maximum of one club in any given round of the competition).”
The amendment permits players to turn out for more than one club in the competition, as long as it isn’t within the same round. However, this scenario seems unlikely given that replays have now been abolished.
Should Guehi make a switch to Liverpool, or even Arsenal and Manchester City – who have also been linked with him – he would be eligible to feature from the fourth round onwards.
Liverpool reached a £35 million agreement for Guehi on deadline day in September, only for Crystal Palace to scrap the deal at the eleventh hour. It’s understood that the Reds maintain their interest in the England international and are amongst several clubs preparing to approach the player when his Selhurst Park contract runs out.
Last week, reports emerged that Arsenal were keeping tabs on Guehi’s situation with a view to a possible transfer. Further reports suggested that City were optimistic about finalising a £30m deal with Palace.
Guehi’s contract expires in June, and some of Europe’s elite clubs are keen to snap up the defender on a free transfer in the summer. These include Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan, with Guehi permitted to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club this month.
Discussing his captain’s future, Palace manager Glasner suggested the player would depart this month if a substantial offer was received.
He said: “Everybody wants that he plays for Crystal Palace, signs a new contract and stays here for ever,” Glasner said of Guehi.
“On the other side, there’s the situation that the contract ends in the summer, and if somebody is coming, there will be a moment when the club says: ‘Now the financial issue is more important than the sport issue.’ We have to do it and try to get the best. That’s why I’m always saying: ‘I don’t know.’ Because this is different.”
He added: “There will be a threshold where the club has to say (sell) … If the player says: ‘I want to leave’ and the money is above the threshold, it will happen. I’m not so naïve not to know that if a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen.”
