Whenever a devout football fan tells you something about their beloved club, it is worth listening.
For many, many months, Crystal Palace supporters were left with a thankless task of trying to convince the nation that Marc Guehi deserved his regular inclusions in Gareth Southgate’s England squads.
Many would often scoff at the 23-year-old being called up to play alongside the more established likes of John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Luke Shaw, blissfully unaware of just how well the man from Abidjan has been performing for Crystal Palace ever since his £18m move from Chelsea in July 2021.
Now – however – the country is finally waking up to the ability of Crystal Palace No.6 Marc Guehi…
England fans no longer question Marc Guehi
Before Sunday’s 1-0 win over Serbia, many were sceptical about Guehi.
Joe Hart even referenced these doubts when eulogising over the Crystal Palace star after England won their opening match in Group C, telling BBC 5 Live Sport: “I thought he was exceptional. All the talk when I come over to Germany, his name has been coming out of people’s mouths all the time with no actual good reason, because he’s had a good season – he’s just the only one that doesn’t have all the honours around his neck.”
Now, nobody is questioning Southgate’s inclusion of Guehi.
Even Jude Bellingham singled the £50,000-a-week man out for praise after England’s win against Serbia, as did Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand when analysing the victory on BBC One.
Frankly, it’s about time.
Guehi didn’t win a competition to secure his 12 England caps so far. He has earned them through hard work, exemplary leadership – which even saw Patrick Vieira hand him the armband at Selhurst Park at the age of just 22 – and also plenty of desire.
Crystal Palace faith has paid off
Guehi had never made a single Premier League appearance before Dougie Freedman lured him to SE25 in an £18m deal – which is a large financial commitment for a player lacking that top level experience.
However, the move has well and truly paid off, with the Telegraph now claiming that Crystal Palace consider the defender to be a £65m player, amid interest from Manchester United, who are rumoured to be open to including Aaron Wan-Bissaka in their bid.
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After a lengthy period of having to fight Guehi’s corner against the rest of the nation, people are finally starting to sit up and take notice of what a talent he really is – at last.
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