Marc Guehi has told Crystal Palace that he will not sign a new contract and is set to leave the club next year, according to manager Oliver Glasner.
The influential Eagles captain’s future at Selhurst Park has been subject to significant doubt for some time after he entered the final months of his current deal and in the aftermath of a collapsed transfer to Liverpool on Deadline Day in the summer.
Guehi had wanted to leave Palace for Anfield after a deal worth around £35million was agreed in the last hours of the window, though the move was scrapped late on with the FA Cup holders unable to sign an adequate replacement in time.
Though the England defender was said to have been extremely unhappy over Palace pulling the plug on his switch to Liverpool, he has continued to skipper the side and made 12 appearances across all competitions so far this season.
Any slender hope that Palace fans may have retained over Guehi performing a U-turn and extending his stay in south London has now been extinguished, with Glasner - who is also out of contract next summer - confirming that he has made his stance very clear.
“I think Marc has already told us that he doesn't sign a new contract, so he will leave next year,” Glasner said at his pre-match press conference before Saturday’s visit of Bournemouth in the Premier League.
"The club wanted (him to stay). They offered Marc a new contract, but he said, 'No, I want to make something different', and that's normal.
"And for us, it's how we can deal with this situation. (What) is the best way to get this next step done? And that's all about how we are talking together."
Palace now face the difficult question of whether they will be content to let Guehi leave for free next summer and keep him for the rest of a season in which they are competing in Europe for the first time, or if they want to bank some sort of fee for the defender and sell him in an inevitably cut-price deal in January.
It also remains to be seen if Liverpool will revisit their interest in the 25-year-old, who was previously subject to multiple bids from Newcastle and will surely have no shortage of suitors if he is either sold for a low fee in January or available on a free transfer next summer.
The Reds have been left notably short of centre-back cover for first-choice pair Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate after their move for Guehi collapsed, with summer signing Giovanni Leoni ruled out for the entire season after suffering a serious knee injury on his debut last month.
