Source:REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
[Saba Sports News] Earlier, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner stated at a press conference that he did not threaten to leave the club to prevent the transfer of defender Marc Guehi. Palace captain Guehi had undergone a medical with Liverpool on transfer deadline day and was set to move to the Premier League champions, but the deal was called off at the last minute. External reports suggested it was manager Glasner who insisted on not letting the player go. In response, Glasner said: “I never threatened to leave the club, never. After many discussions, the chairman finally asked me: ‘If we sell Marc Guehi, do you think we can get through the season?’ I replied: ‘Honestly, in the short term, we cannot.’ If we sign a 19-year-old player (Jaydee Canvot), even if he is excellent, he has only played about 1000 minutes in the league, but we sell our captain, who has played about 15,000 minutes in the Premier League. I think in the short term, we definitely cannot cope. Moreover, that would leave us with only three central defenders. Looking at our fixture schedule, if someone gets injured in a back-three system, the risk is just too, too big. If Crystal Palace is willing to accept that situation and thinks it’s okay, then sell Guehi. If we don’t want to face that situation, then we must keep him. In the end, the chairman decided we would keep him.”