Crystal Palace in talks to sign £18m “leader” who’d be their next Guehi

It would be fair to say that his season has been something of a nightmare for Crystal Palace fans.

The South Londoners started off well enough, but they now find themselves sliding down the Premier League table and out of the domestic cups.

Worse still, Jean Phillipe-Mateta looks to be on the way out, Oliver Glasner has confirmed he’ll be leaving in the summer, and club captain Marc Guehi has already gone.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as Crystal Palace are still being linked with some exciting players, including someone who could become their new Guehi.

Palace target their new Guehi

While they’ve already lost one star and look set to lose another, Palace are also seemingly intent on reinforcing their squad this month.

For example, while it might be a tough deal to get over the line, the South Londoners have been heavily linked with Wolverhampton Wanderers star Jørgen Strand Larsen.

Furthermore, Fulham’s star man, Harry Wilson, has also been touted for a move to Selhurst Park.

However, the club are also looking to reinforce the backline and are now moving towards someone who could be their new Guehi.

At least that is according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which claims that Palace are very interested in Charlie Cresswell.

In fact, the report has revealed that the South Londoners have already ‘made enquiries’ about the defender and requested information about what it would take to secure his signature.

The Eagles are not the only Premier League team to have shown strong interest in the Englishman, though, with West Ham United also keen.

A potential price is not mentioned in the report, but stories from the summer claimed that a fee of around £18m could be enough to tempt Toulouse into selling.

Overall, it could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Cresswell’s ability and potential, it’s one Palace should fight for, especially as he could be their new Guehi.

Why Cresswell could be Palace’s new Guehi

Now, nobody is suggesting that Cresswell is on the level of Guehi, as that would be an absurd thing to do at this point in time.

However, there are some undeniable similarities between the pair, and more than a few reasons to think that the Toulouse star could end up becoming like the Eagles’ captain.

The first, and most simplistic, point of comparison is that they are both English centre-backs plying their trade in a top-five league.

However, more than that, the pair are ball-playing centre-backs who are also more than happy to engage in some old-school defending and throw their weight around.

You can see this in the 23-year-old’s statistics, with FOTmob ranking him in the top 2.4% of centre-backs in Ligue 1 for both aerial duels won and touches in the opposition’s penalty area, the top 6.1% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 11% for duels won and more, all per 90.

Now, the next similarity between the pair is their temperament.

For example, although he didn’t wear the armband, the former Leeds United gem was one of the most important members of the England side that won the U21 European Championships in the summer.

During the tournament, respected analyst-turned-scout Ben Mattinson described the 23-year-old as a “proper leader at the back.”

In other words, the “incredible” ace, as dubbed by scout Jacek Kulig, is someone who combines incredible ability and technical proficiency with excellent personal characteristics, which sounds an awful lot like the Eagles’ former captain.

Ultimately, it won’t be an easy deal to get done, but Crystal Palace should do all they can to sign Cresswell this month as he could be their next Guehi.

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