Newcastle United’s pursuit of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi appears to be hanging in the balance.
A decision over the 24-year-old is set to be made this week, with Newcastle preparing to walk away from the Marc Guehi deal if it’s not agreed by the weekend.
The clock is very much ticking, and latest developments from Selhurst Park cast more doubt over Marc Guehi swapping Crystal Palace for Newcastle United.
Crystal Palace agree to sell Joachim Andersen
As well as Guehi, Crystal Palace have also been receiving offers for Joachim Andersen from Fulham. They want to bring the Denmark international back to Craven Cottage, and there was a fear that Fulham’s Andersen interest could hurt Newcastle’s Guehi bid.
Steve Parish even admitted that Guehi and Andersen are unlikely to both depart, which cranked up the pressure on Toon officials to wrap up a deal for the England international.
However, it is actually Fulham who have moved the fastest.
According to David Ornstein at the Athletic, Fulham have agreed a fee of around £30million to sign Andersen from Crystal Palace.
What Andersen development means for Newcastle and Marc Guehi
After reading that news, the immediate fear was that Newcastle’s bid to sign Guehi was in tatters.
However, that is not the case according to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie.
Following the Andersen development, Downie took to X to share how this imminent move may or may not impact Newcastle’s interest in Guehi.
He wrote: “Fulham agreeing a fee with Crystal Palace for Joachim Andersen is unlikely to have an impact on Newcastle’s pursuit of Marc Guehi, I’m told. #NUFC’s approach remains on the table, and it’s up to the two clubs to try & reach a compromise. The England defender is of optimum value to Palace right now, with two years left on his Eagles contract. That value will only fall. But Newcastle are concurrently looking at alternatives and they will sign a CB before the closure of the window.”
Newcastle do have fresh alternatives
Downie does not believe that this is the end for Newcastle’s interest in Guehi, and he makes a good point. Unless the defender signs a new contract at Selhurst Park, this is Palace’s last chance to get major money for him.
Newcastle have offered around £65million, which seemingly is not the ‘superstar money’ that Parish is looking to receive for Guehi.
The Magpies’ interest has been hanging in the balance, and the situation is now even more delicate.
In the meantime, Newcastle are looking at alternatives, as they should be. Joe Gomez, Malick Thiaw and Trevoh Chalobah have all been linked, but a report has shared two new names that Paul Mitchell is considering.
Following the Andersen bid being accepted, the Athletic’s David Ornstein also stated that Newcastle are stepping up their efforts to identify a replacement.
The report states that Newcastle have held talks with Bayer Leverkusen over Edmond Tapsoba, while there is also interest in Chelsea centre-back Axel Disasi.
The 26-year-old was not on the bench for Chelsea’s first Premier League game of the season, which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City. As for Tapsoba, he is preparing to represent Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League after winning last season’s Bundesliga.
They are the newest names on Newcastle’s radar, with Paul Mitchell having just over a week to bring in a centre-back – and do all the other transfer business that needs doing at St James’ Park. It is going to be an extremely busy end to the window, that is for sure.
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