Marc Guehi touches down for Manchester City medical as Pep Guardiola breaks silence on £20M deal

Marc Guehi landed in Manchester on Sunday morning to undergo a medical ahead of a £20 million move to Manchester City from Crystal Palace.

City have agreed a deal to sign the 25-year-old defender on a five-and-a-half year contract midway through the season, with Guehi set to become Pep Guardiola’s second January signing after Antoine Semenyo .

Guehi nearly joined Liverpool last summer but a transfer broke down at the eleventh hour, with the England international since kicking on and thriving for Crystal Palace in the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park.

Liverpool and Arsenal were believed to be Guehi’s preferred picks for the summer, when he would be due a major signing-on bonus as a free agent, but Manchester City quickly stepped in and convinced the Ivory Coast-born star to join forces with Guardiola.

– Sunday, 18 January 2026

City need reinforcements in defence in the wake of injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol against Chelsea earlier this month, with the former out for at least another month with a hamstring injury and the latter sidelined till May.

The Blues were ripped to shreds by Manchester United in a 2-0 derby defeat for Guardiola and co at Old Trafford on Saturday, when City’s backline featured Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Max Alleyne and Nathan Ake – a concerning look for a side challenging for silverware on four fronts.

Alleyne, 20, was recalled from loan at Watford after City’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea and the Blues academy graduate has since started four times in the space of two weeks – against Brighton, Exeter City , Newcastle and Manchester United.

City need to protect their backline if they are to finish the season with silverware and after beating several big-six sides to the arrival of Semenyo from Bournemouth, the Blues have won the race to sign Guehi from Crystal Palace for a cut-price £20 million fee.

Palace’s decision of allowing Guehi to fly to Manchester on Sunday for a medical has come to the chagrin of head coach Oliver Glasner, who criticised the south London club for throwing him and his group under the bus in the buildup to their 2-1 loss against Sunderland on Saturday.

Guardiola will not care one bit though, with Manchester City still searching for their first Premier League victory of 2026 after dropping nine points in their last four games.

Quizzed on City’s agreed deal with Palace for their club captain after the derby defeat to Manchester United, Guardiola said: “I don’t know yet officially from my club.

“When I think you will know it, I will know when they tell me. Apparently it’s close but I spoke now with Ferran (Soriano) and Hugo (Viana) – and they didn’t tell me anything about that.”

Despite City’s lacklustre display in their derby loss, Guardiola praised academy star Alleyne. “Max (Alleyne) has been top the last two games that he played. Today, of course, the first two actions he lost. And these guys have to live these experiences to be better. But the games – for example, Newcastle – he has been extraordinary, really good.”

Guehi is expected to be announced as a Manchester City player early next week, though the England international cannot feature in the UEFA Champions League for the Blues until the Round of 16 stages – meaning he will miss the midweek trip to Norway to face Bodø/Glimt.