Marc Guehi and Oliver Glasner: How Crystal Palace pair’s departure happened

Losing your manager and captain in the same day are two heavy blows that will require time to recover from.

No sooner had Manchester City struck an initial £20m deal to sign Crystal Palace’s captain Marc Guehi was head coach Oliver Glasner confirming he would be leaving Selhurst Park at the end of the season.

Neither development comes as a shock. BBC Sport revealed that City had accelerated their move for Guehi last Monday in light of Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias suffering injuries.

On Thursday night, following talks between City and Palace, the England defender’s move to Etihad Stadium was agreed in principle.

Even if City had failed in their pursuit to sign Guehi this month, the centre-back’s contract expires in June and he was leaving regardless.

Similarly, with Glasner, while his announcement on Friday was unexpected, the fact he has decided to leave Selhurst Park is far from unanticipated.

Glasner said he had communicated his decision to chairman Steve Parish in October, the same month BBC Sport reported that Palace’s hopes of keeping him beyond this season were remote at best.

The pair, according to Glasner, had made a pact to keep the news a secret until they both decided to make their parting public.

That did not prevent speculation over Glasner, whose decision to leave Palace had become one of the worst kept secrets in English football.

Did the club’s decision to sell Guehi to City prove the catalyst behind Glasner’s surprising admission in his weekly press conference? Sources have indicated it was a factor.

But in many ways, the motivation behind Glasner’s bombshell media briefing, in which he also admitted the club are open to selling star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, is neither here nor there for Palace.

The real narrative for them is preparing for life without their most successful manager and captain in history.

Glasner congregated all his players and staff at the club’s training ground just before noon on Friday.

What arrived did not necessarily shock the players, they all had to have been living under a rock not to know their manager was very likely leaving in the summer.

The timing, though, got tongues wagging. Why now?

Prior to his announcement to the players, his captain Guehi had confirmed his intention to join Manchester City.

Glasner is one of Guehi’s biggest supporters, he will continue to be when they part ways.

It was always the Austrian’s intention for him and his captain to leave at the end of the season, but with Guehi’s departure thrust forward it is, perhaps, no surprise that he has taken the decision to confirm his intention to go now, too.

Nevertheless, the cracks between Glasner and the Palace hierarchy began showing in the summer.

The Austrian coach had been vocal in his frustration at the lack of transfer incomings. The club signed only back-up left-back Borna Sosa and number two keeper Walter Benitez before the final week of the window, by which point the season was already under way.

They targeted a move for Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande, but the club never got close to reaching an agreement.

Glasner was steadfast in his belief that the club should capitalise on last season’s euphoric FA Cup triumph by building a squad capable of pushing up the Premier League, but also one that could cope with the demands of playing European football for the first time.

Eventually, Palace signed Yeremy Pino in a deal worth £26m while young players Christantus Uche and Jaydee Canvot also arrived.

But Uche and Canvot have hardly played, with Glasner largely relying on the same squad as he did last season with minimal rotation, a squad that lost key player Eberechi Eze to Arsenal.

Palace started the season brightly, with many tipping a push for a Champions League place.

But Glasner feared trouble was round the corner. The coach is adept at juggling domestic and European football – he won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 after all.

Some behind the scenes believe his apprehension to rotate the team provided a clear indication that it was his intention not renew his contract.

«It’s been like he has been getting his pound of flesh from the players because he knows he is leaving anyway,» said one source.

Eventually Glasner’s concerns came to fruition. They are currently nine matches without a victory, their latest defeat arriving last Saturday against non-league Macclesfield as their efforts to retain the FA Cup came to an embarrassing end.

They are currently 13th in the Premier League heading into this weekend’s game at Sunderland.

Preventing Guehi from joining Liverpool in a deal worth £35m in the summer did represent somewhat of a victory for Glasner, who was adamant all along that the defender should not be sold even if it meant the club would lose him for nothing this summer.

Although denied by Glasner, a number of sources have indicated that the 51-year-old would have considered his position immediately had Palace sold Guehi in the summer.

Even after Glasner informed Parish of his intention to step down over dinner in October, you sensed Palace had not given up hope of somehow persuading their manager to U-turn.

For example, the club record signing of Brennan Johnson is said to have been driven by the Austrian.

Equally, Parish is understood to have played a key role in ensuring Johnson arrived early in the January window to deliver for his manager, which many interpreted as an attempt at trying to convince Glasner that the club were prioritising strengthening the squad with his imprint.

That said, Palace have been active in identifying potential candidates to replace Glasner in the summer.

Guehi’s exit will also cut deep. But for the England defender, the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola, head straight into a title race and play Champions League football was too good to refuse.

That said, it was never Guehi’s intention to leave Selhurst Park in January. Having missed out on a move to Anfield on summer transfer deadline day, the defender was clear in his decision to stay until the end of the season.

In that scenario, it is understood Liverpool and Bayern Munich were the favourites to sign him.

Of course, Liverpool’s interest in Guehi is long-standing and you wonder now who they may turn to in search of a new centre-back.

Equally, Bayern had made a strong play for Guehi, with iconic Premier League central defender Vincent Kompany – head coach at the Allianz Arena – taking a particular shine to the 25-year-old.

England team-mate Harry Kane was keen for Guehi to join him in Germany, too.

City were also in the mix at the end of the season and believed they had a strong case to convince Guehi.

But the injuries suffered by defenders Gvardiol and Dias in the draw with Chelsea this month meant City accelerated their interest.

Once the necessary paperwork is signed off, Guehi is expected to travel north in the next 72 hours to complete the formalities.

With Dias and Gvardiol out, the expectation is Guehi will play immediately.

There will be some that question his decision, particularly with Guardiola’s long-term future far from certain.

It also goes without saying the centre-back will earn a huge pay increase, though finances are not the determining factor for him.

In joining City, Guehi has as close a guarantee as you can get of competing for major trophies on a regular basis – with or without Guardiola.

Finally, you have to wonder what Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta makes of Guehi’s switch in terms of the title race.

Arsenal made a late call to check on the status of Guehi’s future and to register their own interest earlier this month.

But Guehi has made up his mind and we are about to find out how crucial that move may be towards the destination of the Premier League title.