Manchester United emerge as surprise landing spot for coveted soon to be free agent

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Manchester United could join the race to sign Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi. The soon to be free agent is approaching the final six months of his deal and has been linked heavily with a move to Liverpool.

Palace in fact pulled the plug on a deadline day move to Anfield for Guehi, and are now prepared to lose the player for free over the summer. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have since entered the race, with foreign clubs able to enter negotiations with the player beginning in January.

Mail Sport has now reported that Man United could launch a surprise move for Guehi as a potential replacement for Harry Maquire. Maquire like Guehi is out of contract in the summer and free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from January.

Mail Sport adds that talks over extending Maguire’s deal have made limited progress, and that United are now monitoring Guehi’s situation.

United were originally prepared to wait until summer to address defensive reinforcements, but are not ruling out bringing forward those plans if an opportunity presents itself in January. Guehi is understood be on the short list of names for United as he enters the final six months of his deal.

Guehi won’t be short on suitors when he leaves Palace. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool are just some of the clubs known to be keen on the England international.

The defender is totally committed to playing for Palace in the meantime, but has informed the club he will not sign an extension as he seeks a move to bigger club and Champions League football. Guehi’s future looks set to be one of the summer’s biggest stories.

Bayern Munich and Liverpool are believed to be especially keen on Guehi since there are uncertainties surrounding their own soon to be free agents Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate respectively. With Upamecano and Konate also targets of Real Madrid, a free transfer merry go round could be triggered when one player signs for a club.

Nadji is a football writer with over 10 years of experience covering the Premier League. His work has been featured on Football Fancast, Arsenal-Mania, and Arsenal.com, where he has built a reputation for delivering sharp analysis, engaging storytelling, and in-depth coverage of the game.