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Arsenal linked Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi

Arsenal are reportedly considering a move for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi as Mikel Arteta looks to bring in cover for the injured Jurrien Timber.

The Gunners have had an impressive window already, bringing in Timber (£38m), Declan Rice (£105m), Kai Havertz (£65m) and David Raya (loan) so far.

With Timber likely unavailable for the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, however, Arteta would like to bring in another defender before the transfer window closes on Friday.

To that end, Arsenal have been linked with a number of potential options who could fill that void.

Left-back Kieran Tierney is also set to join Real Sociedad on a season-long loan this weekend, which has only increased the need for defensive reinforcements.

According to transfer journalist Dean Jones, Arsenal are considering a late move for Guehi, who is considered to be one of the top young defenders in the Premier League.

The England international made the switch from Chelsea to Selhurst Park back in 2021 for a fee of £18m. He has since become a stalwart at the back for the Eagles.

Guehi played in all but one of Crystal Palace’s Premier League games last season, helping his team to eight clean sheets and scoring one goal.

His performances have caught the attention of several top European clubs. For instance, Chelsea are reportedly keen on re-signing the centre-back, with Mauricio Pochettino thought to be a big admirer of his.

Crystal Palace value Guehi at an eye-watering £60m, though, which has put the Blues off making a move for the defender this summer. As a result, they decided to sign Axel Disasi instead, paying Monaco €45m (£38.7m) for the France international.

As per Jones’ report, Arsenal are plotting a late move for Guehi, but reaching an agreement with Crystal Palace will be difficult.

The Marc Guehi interest has been there for a while,” Jones told Givemesport.

“I don’t know that it necessarily would combine well with any interest from Takehiro Tomiyasu from Palace because Palace have no intention to lose Guehi and value him very, very highly.

“Earlier in the window I was being told of a £60m valuation on him and to be honest at this stage of the window it has probably risen.

“Guehi himself would even have reservations about how he fits in with Gabriel, William Saliba, Ben White and Jurrien Timber over the course of the season.”

As mentioned by Jones, Crystal Palace do hold an interest in Tomiyasu, so Arsenal could try to negotiate to part-exchange deal for Guehi.

In reality, though, Arsenal would probably need to pay £60m+ to sign Guehi this summer, especially so close to the end of the transfer window.