Crystal Palace reportedly trail Liverpool and Manchester City in the race to sign one of Europe’s most promising centre-backs. The Eagles are set to prioritise signing a replacement for Marc Guehi this summer despite Jaydee Canvot impressing in recent weeks.
Guehi left Palace for City for £20m in January and has become one of Pep Guardiola’s most important players. He was just as influential during his time at Selhurst Park, and his absence is being felt amid several worrying defensive displays.
The South Londoners will be starting a new era this summer after Oliver Glasner departs in June. The Austrian is leaving when his contract expires, and the club will be buying a new coach.
Crystal Palace eye Baidoo
Palace already seem to have put together a shortlist of targets for the summer, even though a replacement for Glasner has yet to be decided. A new defender could be on the cards as they are monitoring Lens’ Samson Baidoo.
TEAMtalk reported in December that Baidoo was on the club’s radar and an option to replace Guehi. The 21-year-old has also attracted interest from West Ham United, who have been dealing with issues in defence.
The problem Palace have is that Liverpool and City have now come in for the Austrian and ‘lead the race’ for the Ligue 1 star. A report from Sports Boom claims that the two Premier League heavyweights are preparing to battle it out while Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan are also in the mix.
| Samson Baidoo (Ligue 1 2025-26) | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Appearances: | 18 |
| Goals: | 2 |
| Assists: | 1 |
| Interceptions: | 1.7 |
| Tackles per game: | 1.5 |
| Balls recovered per game: | 4.8 |
| Clearances per game: | 3.7 |
| Ground duels won: | 2.2 (62%) |
| Aerial duels won: | 1.8 (46%) |
Lens are believed to have placed a €45-55m (£39-48m) price tag on Baidoo, who only joined the French club last summer. He’s caught the eye in the 20 appearances he’s made since arriving at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Liverpool views the young defender as an ‘ideal’ Virgil van Dijk successor, and that will be problematic for the Eagles. They missed out on Guehi last summer when a £35m deadline day deal was cancelled under Glasner’s order.
Palace have alternatives
A new centre-back seems likely to arrive in the summer, and Palace have put together a list of potential targets. Ousmane Diomande was the club’s dream Guehi replacement, but he has penned a new long-term deal with Sporting CP, which includes a €80m (£70m) release clause.
Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez is still on the Eagles’ radar amid a fine spell in Belgium. Steve Parish’s transfer chiefs are also tracking Toulouse’s Charlie Cresswell and Lyon’s Ruben Kluivert.
It’s promising news to hear that several options are being studied rather than just focusing on one top target. If Baidoo, described as ‘explosive’, were to arrive at Selhurst Park, he could form a strong partnership with Canvot in the backline for years to come.
