Arsenal have entered the race to sign Manchester City and Liverpool target Marc Guehi, according to The Mirror.
The Crystal Palace captain came close to leaving Crystal Palace on deadline day in September but saw a move to Liverpool fall through.
Guehi’s contract expires at the end of the season with the Eagles expected to entertain offers for the England international in January.
The Reds remain interested in the 25-year-old but they face stiff competition from a number of Europe’s big hitters.
Competition rife for Guehi
Premier League rivals City are also keeping tabs on Guehi following injuries to starting centre-backs Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias in their recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
In addition, John Stones remains absent, leaving City short of senior centre-backs for the coming weeks.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, Spanish trio Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, and Serie A title contenders Inter are also monitoring Guehi.
The Eagles skipper is able to sign a pre-contract with overseas sides this month, which may force Premier League sides into action as they look to land one of the most coveted defenders on the continent.
Arsenal ready to make Guehi move
However, Arsenal are now also muscling in on the race to sign Guehi as the Gunners seek to bolster their watertight backline.
Arsenal have invested heavily in their defence in recent months, signing both Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie from Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively, over the summer.
It does, though, remain to be seen whether Arsenal will firm up their interest in Guehi in the winter window or wait until his contract expires at the end of the season.
Glasner has conceded Guehi may leave this month
The Premier League leaders’ decision to enter the race for Guehi comes after Palace boss Oliver Glasner conceded that they may sell the defender this month.
“I'm not naive. If a massive offer comes from City and Marc wants to do it, it will happen,” the Austrian said earlier this week.
After the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa in midweek, though, Glasner’s stance on Guehi appeared to change, with the Palace boss stating: “I think Marc will stay but if Marc says 'I want to leave', and a club pays massive money - with five months left of a contract - every player will leave if you're playing for a club like Crystal Palace.
“I'm pretty sure our chairman will ask for a very high price for him and then let's see. I don't know if Marc wants to leave.”
Palace’s stalemate with Villa on Wednesday night means the Eagles are now winless in six, losing four times in that run, and have since dropped to 13th in the table.
