Crystal Palace 'suspicion' emerges after West Ham's Igor Julio hijack collapsed Marc Guehi exit
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.
Credit: Manh Tung - Breaking Media, Imago
Oliver Walton
Tue 2 September 2025 18:38, UK
Crystal Palace have raised suspicions over Igor Julio’s move to West Ham after their failed approach for the Brighton defender saw Marc Guehi’s Liverpool switch called off.
Marc Guehi‘s future at Selhurst Park had been unclear throughout the summer window after he was an instrumental part of the club’s success in 2024/25.
Football Insider revealed on 12 August that Liverpool and Newcastle were set to make moves for Guehi late in the window, even though he started the new season as a regular under Glasner despite continued links away.
Football Insider also revealed on Friday (22 August) that Liverpool remained hopeful of signing Guehi in a cut-price deal before the deadline, and negotiations continued behind the scenes on Monday (1 September) with the cut-off looming.
Guehi’s move to Liverpool then collapsed at the last-minute, after the Eagles failed to bring in a centre-back replacement, despite previously targeting Igor Julio, and a new development has now suggested why the Brighton man instead joined West Ham.
Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media
Guehi is believed to be angry that his move to Liverpool has not happened, but from Crystal Palace‘s point of view, they simply could not allow him to leave without adequate replacements through the door.
According to a new report from the Daily Mail, the “suspicion” at Palace is that more favourable terms from West Ham may have played their part in Brighton man Julio snubbing the Eagles to play under Graham Potter after his “head was turned”.
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES
The Guardian’s Ed Aarons had previously stated that Palace had decided against signing Julio on loan due to an issue with his medical, but that notion has seemingly been quashed with the reveal that the Hammers likely offered the Brazilian defender a better contract to secure his services over the Eagles.
Football Insider verdict
The Mail have also revealed that Eagles boss Oliver Glasner did not threaten to resign if Guehi was sold, despite his comments after their win against Aston Villa on Sunday (31 August) that the club had “no chance” of finding a replacement for the England man and had to keep him at Selhurst Park.
Guehi’s impressive exploits at Palace have made him one of the most highly-rated, in-demand centre-backs in the Premier League, and a move to Liverpool will have undoubtedly appealed after their recent title win.
AppearancesGoalsAssists16094Guehi’s Crystal Palace career stats
His influence has been so clear that the Eagles wanted two centre-backs to come in to replace him this summer, and despite signing youngster Jaydee Canvot from Toulouse on deadline day, that was certainly not enough to sanction Guehi’s exit.
They were right, then, to pull the plug on his deal, as much as it has seemingly and understandably annoyed him, as the fee they were set to receive was not enough to justify such a late sale, and it is better to have upset Guehi than to have potentially pushed Glasner closer to the exit door by letting him leave without a replacement.