Not really a surprise for Palace to be asking for a large fee. With the money prem teams get they aren’t really desperate to sell even if he leaves on a free next summer and they have a history of demanding really large fees for players. Zaha a load of times and Guehi last summer. So hopefully we have someone else in mind and we can pick Guehi up for free next summer.
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They know that we need a CB, so they try to fleece us. That’s par for the course.
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Also a CB with one year on his contract left.
I dont think it’s stupid. They’re probably ok losing him on a free next year. Alternatively, they may get someone paying that fee, or close to what they may really want.
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I think this is unlikely. I would expect us to have at least heard something on this from a more reliable source if it were true.
I also think €55m euros doesnt sound that high that common ground couldnt have been met if we were seriously interested.
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55M is a lot for a CB in the last year of his deal, even when considering the relative paucity of quality CBs.
We paid 35m for the Ox when he was in final year of his contract.
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I think fans read too much into whether or not a player is in the last year of a contract when deciding what they think his value or price is…
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Ox is taller than him.
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But does he have a good standing jump? oh, and is he good at timing his good standing jump?
Evidently the guy closer to Palace is more likely the correct source especially on deals received. We may informally suggested our price.
Regardless we need at least one before that window shuts.
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I feel like the Ekitike deal is instructive with this one. We were linked early, apparently put off by the price and cooled our interest. Then Newcastle make a move and we instantly jump in to seal the deal, having done all necessary groundwork earlier.
I think we’re in the middle phase here. We’ve spoken to the player and club to gauge interest in the move and price, and we’ve backed off since then to concentrate on other deals, seemingly happy to let time run on and probably see if the price will come down as the window goes on. But if someone else comes in with a bid Palace might entertain I’d expect to see us jump in immediately to get it done.
But until that happens, while he is a need he isn’t an immediate need given he wouldn’t be arriving as a first-choice, so we’re probably content just to play a waiting game for now.
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There was some homophobic controversy a while back. Something to do with him refusing to wear a rainbow armband/religious beliefs thing. That might be giving the club pause for thought.
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I think that’s probably a bit overblown (he did wear the armband):
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It shouldn’t.
The whole bend the knee and the rainbow armband is meaningless. Not when there’s no difference in the ground level.
Now please don’t come after me.
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Maybe meaningless to you, having some visible representation is useful.
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Not in the larger picture when the message isn’t being filtered down effectively.
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He wore the rainbow armbands but wrote ‘I love Jesus’ on it one time and then the next ‘Jesus loves you’. Religious messaging on your kit is against FA rules but he got away with a warning.
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I personally feel that Guehi is happy to run down his contract if Palace price him out of a move to a club challenging for silverware (eg us). Equally, I feel that the club is happy to wait to get him on a free next year depending on his own fitness and form, and what other options might then be available.
I certainly hope that doesn’t mean we don’t get someone in at CB this window though. We definitely need an extra body in there. Maybe it’s Leoni? If so, he’s incredibly raw.
I’d prefer perhaps a loan for additional cover. Someone like Militao or Lucas Hernandez. Experienced players who find themselves on the fringes or, in Militao’s case, further down the pecking order as they return from injury.
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