Man City and Crystal Palace could see the chance for a transfer swap deal emerging as Palace are keen on a City player this winter. 

Pep Guardiola’s side were in good form before last weekend, when they suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park. They are now six points away from league leaders Arsenal, and will be desperate to get back to winning ways this weekend when they play against second-placed Bournemouth.

Amid their hopeful chase of Arsenal in the Premier League, Man City will be thinking about how they can improve their squad in the January transfer window, and could be looking to add more help in Guardiola’s back four to make them more solid.

One player that City were linked to in the summer transfer window was Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, who looks set to leave Palace either in January or at the end of the season when his contract expires. Liverpool were close to landing Guehi in the summer, but they didn’t, so City could make a move for him in January.

Man City could offer Ake in swap for Guehi

If City decide they do want to add more defensive help in January, they could go after Guehi, and offer defender Nathan Ake in a swap deal, as reports are saying that Crystal Palace are set to renew their interest in the Dutchman.

Palace were keen on Ake in the summer of 2024, but all reports linking them went quiet. However, according to a new report by TeamTalk, Palace are keen on Ake again, and could make a move for him either in janaury or in teh summer.

So instead of simply selling Ake, Man City could get creative, and offer Ake in part-exchange for Guehi, helping both teams to bring in long-term transfer targets. Guehi is estimated to be worth around £35m, whereas Ake is valued at around £19m, so City could offer Ake plus £15m, and try to land Guehi ahead of rivals Liverpool.

Guehi could be the long-term John Stones replacement

Not only would Guehi help to strengthen Pep’s team at the moment, he would also be a long-term solution to the problem that John Stones is getting older, and the English defender’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

There have been no indications yet whether Stones will sign a new deal at City after 10 years. The 31-year-old is still a big part of Guardiola’s squad, but if he doesn’t sign a new contract, Guehi could be the ideal man to replace the former Everton star.

Click here to see Man City’s current first team squad ahead of the January transfer window.