Manchester City are weighing up a January move for Marc Guéhi with Josko Gvardiol to undergo surgery on a broken leg and Rúben Dias also injured.
Guéhi, 25, has entered the final six months of his contract and City are now considering a bid for the in-demand centre-back. However, they would face a fight to get the England defender out of Crystal Palace this month. Guéhi’s proposed move to Liverpool collapsed on deadline day last summer.
Gvardiol is facing months on the sidelines after City confirmed on Monday that the Croatia centre-back had suffered a tibial fracture to his right leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea that will require an operation later this week.
With Dias also going off against Chelsea with an injury that Pep Guardiola said “doesn’t look good” and could sideline the Portugal international for “a few weeks”, the City manager risks being left well short at centre-half.
Nathan Ake and John Stones have both been dogged by injury problems and have made just two and four starts respectively in the Premier League this season.
Young Uzbekistan defender Abdukodir Khusanov has only been used sparingly this term and Manuel Akanji joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan in September.
City have recalled Max Alleyne from his loan at Watford and the 20-year-old could be involved in the squad to face Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday but the loss of Gvardiol and Dias has left Guardiola short of proven quality.
City are expected to sign Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth in a £65m deal this month but are also now looking for reinforcements at the back and are keen admirers of Guéhi.
Although Palace risk losing Guéhi for nothing in the summer with the defender having indicated he will not sign a new contract to stay at Selhurst Park, there are no guarantees any move for him would be successful this month.
Oliver Glasner, the Palace manager, has already expressed concern about Palace’s lack of squad depth this season and need for new recruits, particularly as they juggle the demands of domestic and European football, and would be loath to lose Guéhi in mid-season.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have also shown interest in Guéhi in addition to Liverpool and the player could land a bigger financial package by moving as a free agent in the summer when he would have more clubs to choose from.
City said Gvardiol would have surgery “later this week” and that “assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the injury and expected prognosis”. The Croatian, who would be hoping to face England in both countries’ World Cup opener on June 17, has been a key figure for Guardiola this season as they challenge Arsenal for the title.