Newcastle should be prepared to “overpay” for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, according to NewcastleWorld reporter Jordan Cronin.
Speaking on the Geordie Journos Show on Shots!, Cronin said that the alternatives, such as Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah, are simply not good enough to start for the Magpies:
“I don’t think Marc Guehi is worth the money that is being touted about but it’s almost at that point now that Newcastle have picked their man and feeling now ‘we need to go and get him’…”
“What are the alternatives? Because they are being linked with alternatives who are not very high class either. I mean there’s a guy at Chelsea, Trevoh Chalobah, who has been linked again this week.”
“If that was the alternative I would be very, very disappointed. I would rather they pay overpay on Marc Guehi than fall back on a player that wouldn’t necessarily improve the starting eleven.”
What is the situation with Guehi?
At the time of writing, there has been no breakthrough in talks with Palace, with the Eagles said to be holding out for a fee that would total £70m (including add-ons).
Newcastle’s last offer was believed to be £55m plus £5m in performance-related bonuses, which means there is still a sizeable gap between the two parties.
Will Newcastle target Chalobah as an alternative?
The Athletic have confirmed that the 25-year-old is one of three centre-backs (along with Liverpool’s Joe Gomez and AC Milan’s Malick Thiaw) that the Magpies may consider pursuing if they end their pursuit of Guehi.
Chelsea are very keen to get Chalobah off the club’s books and reports suggest a fee of around £30m could be enough to secure his signature. The centre-back is only a year older than Guehi but he would be available for less than half the price.
