Arsenal have apparently joined the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi.
The 22-year-old quickly established a starting role for the Eagles upon departing Chelsea in the summer of 2021 and has gone from strength to strength alongside Joachim Andersen.
Guehi has recorded five goals and an assist in 78 games for Crystal Palace across all tournaments, including one goal from 36 outings during the 2022-23 campaign.
The ex-Swansea City loanee has started and completed the full 90 in 33 of Palace's Premier League fixtures this term and has also been trusted with the armband on eight occasions, including in fixtures with Man United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Thanks to Guehi's exploits in a Palace jersey, the centre-back earned his first three caps for the senior England team in 2022, although he missed out on a World Cup call-up.
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Roy Hodgson's side are protected by Guehi's long-running contract, which does not expire until 2026, but the Eagles' resolve could be tested by members of the Big Six this summer.
All of Man United, Man City and Tottenham are believed to be pondering a deal for Guehi, who could command at least £50m and as much as £60m to leave Selhurst Park.
Now, The Sun claims that Arsenal have thrown their hat into the ring as Mikel Arteta aims to address the defensive deficiencies that have derailed his side's Premier League title charge.
The Gunners embarked on an unexpected title charge with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as their central pairing, but the former has been sidelined for over a month with a troublesome back injury.
The Frenchman's absence has been well and truly felt, as Arsenal have failed to win any of their last four Premier League games, shipping 11 goals in the process with Rob Holding in the backline.
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Ben White is capable of featuring in the heart of defence, but the England international has excelled at right-back this term in place of the injury-riddled Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is out for the remainder of the season with a knee problem.
Arsenal did bolster their defensive ranks in January with the signing of Jakub Kiwior from Spezia, but the Poland international has seldom been used by Arteta given his relative inexperience.
As a result, the Gunners are apparently considering a rethink for their summer transfer strategy, having initially earmarked Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice as two marquee signings for £150m fees.
Instead, Arsenal may put such plans on ice in favour of a more well-rounded summer window, as Arteta prepares to axe a host of unwanted fringe players who are not seen as Champions League level.
The Gunners will be playing in Europe's top tournament for the first time since 2016-17 next term, but they have been bumped down to second in the Premier League table thanks to Manchester City's 4-1 thrashing of Fulham on Sunday.
Ben Knapton
