Defenders' swap between City and Palace

Manchester United snatched Benjamin Sesko right under Newcastle’s nose. Arsenal did something similar to Tottenham with Eberechi Eze, and now they plan to “pinch” Piero Hincapie from their city rivals—but that’s not all. It seems another major “heist” could happen this week. The victim: Arne Slot. The “thief”: Pep Guardiola. It’s well known that Liverpool have been monitoring Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi (25) throughout this transfer window and are eager to bring him in. Pressure on the Reds has grown as it became clear that Ibrahima Konate will not sign a new contract (his current one expires next year). Just when many thought Liverpool would finally launch their decisive attack for one of the most highly rated defenders in England, it turns out Manchester City have taken the more concrete step. And not only that—City have a serious ace up their sleeve. His name is Manuel Akanji.

Palace admit: We need to sell Guehi

Crystal Palace know they’ll lose Guehi for free if they don’t sell him in the next six days. The club has been working on finding a replacement for some time, weighing their options, but one of the main problems is time—or rather, the lack of it. That’s where City come in with a solution: two transfers in one negotiation. You give us Guehi, we’ll give you his replacement—Akanji. For a club in a time crunch, that’s no small matter. The only question is whether the Swiss defender would accept a move to Selhurst Park instead of Istanbul (Galatasaray want him) or Leverkusen, who recently entered the race. In any case, if the conditions Palace offer suit Akanji, Manchester City could overnight become favorites to sign Marc Guehi. And that would be another “heist” in the making. As a reminder, Guardiola needs a center-back, since in addition to Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake is also likely to leave the Etihad, with Everton calling for him.