Man Utd make shock ‘official approach’ for Crystal Palace star as Bayern man also ‘earmarked’

Manchester United have made an ‘official approach’ for Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi, who’s been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool this summer.

The Red Devils completed the signing of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig for £74m last week, taking their total summer spending to around £200m with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon also added to Ruben Amorim’s squad.

It’s been widely reported that the United chiefs are now focusing on either a new goalkeeper or central midfielder, possibly both, with Fabrizio Romano providing recent updates on potential moves for Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma and Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.

He claims Donnarumma will now ‘100% leave’ PSG having been left out of their Super Cup squad, with United among the clubs interested in services, while also revealing that the Red Devils are planning ‘new talks’ over a move for Baleba, who they believe is ‘keen’ on the move to Old Trafford this summer.

No-one expected a move for a new centre-back, but FootballTransfers claim the Red Devils ‘have made an official approach for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi as they look to rival Liverpool for his signature’.

A report on Sunday claimed that Liverpool are set to ‘reignite talks’ over Guehi with the Reds ‘in the market for a new centre back after Jarell Quansah’s move to Bayer Leverkusen left them with just three senior options in that position.’

And Spanish website Fichajes later claimed that Liverpool ‘could submit a formal offer in the coming days’ for Guehi with Crystal Palace still looking for a fee of around £45m to sell.

But FootballTransfers claim that although United’s ‘initial approach was exploratory at this stage’ – made in a bid to gauge Palace’s asking price and Guehi’s ‘willingness to join –  ‘Ruben Amorim’s side are eager to finalise a deal’ for the England international.

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The report also revealed that Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano – who, like Guehi, is out of contract next summer – has been ‘earmarked as an alternative’, though Guehi ‘remains their preferred option as things stand’.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted that Guehi is likely to be sold this summer following the club’s victory over Liverpool in the Community Shield final on Sunday.

“For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it’s a problem for us unfortunately,” Parish told reporters.

“Joachim [Andersen] went [to Fulham last summer] and we couldn’t afford to lose both. We then had another bid [for Guehi] in January but that was a different situation.

“We’ll just have to see what happens. But, you know, it needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind.”

Palace manager Oliver Glasner has been critical of the club’s summer transfer activity and Parish added: “It’s difficult. We have an outstanding 15 or 16 players, trying to get that level of quality in is hard. The prices – at the end of the day we’re Crystal Palace.

“The money at every football club is finite at some point. We will do what we can, try and help where we can. We all want to be better at football and we will try and do what we can.”