The whole “swap deal” isn’t a real mechanism, but it does raise the relevent issue that how you pay for something is different than how the deal gets captured in your books, which is typically what is more important in this era of spending regulations.
If we go back to the G&H times one of the reasons that Aquillani was targeted was because Roma still owed us money for Riise. We didn’t have the cash or financing capability to pay full whack for a player of his valuation so cancelling the money owed on the Riise deal as part payment allowed us to make it happen. But that had no impact on the book value of the acquisition - he still had to get booked for his full valuation.
I mean this is how it should be. If he supplants Ibou, then we’re still winners at the end of the day. We need plenty of cover and rotation options, hopefully Slot learned that from last season as we seemed to peter out a bit at the back end of the season.
Guardian just put out a piece saying Guehi will only go somewhere he’s guaranteed first-team football, and is prepared to leave on a free at the end of next season if he doesn’t fancy the offers this summer
Then it depends on whether he thinks he’s better than Konate… or willing to wait a year to inherit the spot next to Virgil (assume that would become the plan).
He may be willing to wait, but we can’t afford to. If he doesn’t decide soon we’d need to look elsewhere.
Doesn’t rule out him arriving in 12 months of course, particularly if Konate also leaves on a free then, but we do need to replace Quansah this summer.
Do we really want to sign a player who demands “guaranteed playing time”? That doesn’t sound very team-friendly.
If he doesn’t believe he’s up for the chance to move to the Champions and fight for a starting place, then we don’t need him. He should go somewhere else tbf.
And if he gets substituted for some reason, or isn’t selected, or whatever, do we risk him causing trouble? I can’t imagine Slot being so happy about that.
TBF it doesn’t sound like he is asking to be first-choice or undroppable, the actual quote reads:
"Guéhi, who has no intention of signing an extension, remains open-minded about his next destination and a big consideration for the 24-year-old is making sure he has plenty of playing time next season.
The former Chelsea centre-back, who played an integral role in Palace winning the FA Cup, needs to safeguard his place in the England squad before the 2026 World Cup. That means there is an obvious benefit in joining a club who can offer Guéhi a quick route into their starting XI."
