The race to sign Marc Guehi is wide open and there is not a favourite or a frontrunner at the moment.
Guehi has entered the final six months of his contract at Crystal Palace, with Eagles boss Oliver Glasner that the player has already informed the club he will depart in 2026.
The only question remains whether Guehi will move in January or July. The England international can walk away for nothing when his contract expires on June 30, or interested clubs can sort a cut-price deal with Palace this month for an immediate transfer.
Guehi is also able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with clubs in Europe, but the player is taking his time to weigh up the options before making a decision.
Your Site News' Kaveh Solhekol runs through the state of play regarding Guehi...
Man City are the club who want to sign him this month but they would also be prepared to take him as a free agent in the summer.
City would have to make Crystal Palace an offer that is too good to turn down to get Guehi this month. As of Monday evening, that has not happened.
Palace were willing to accept £35m from Liverpool until the last minute in the summer and they still would want a sizeable fee.
City are in the market for a centre back because of injuries to Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias - plus question marks over the long-term futures of John Stones and Nathan Ake.
Liverpool are pushing to sign Guehi as a free agent next summer.
Guehi nearly moved to Liverpool on the final day of the summer transfer window, but his £35m move collapsed at the last minute last summer.
Because Guehi was in talks with Liverpool, the player knows exactly what Liverpool's plans are for him and how he would fit in at Anfield.
Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has also entered the final six months of his contract at Anfield.
Arsenal are in the race to sign Guehi in the summer. It is no surprise that the Gunners are interested in an England international who is available on a free transfer in July.
Having said that, they have strength in the depth at the back and Gabriel and William Saliba have recently signed new deals.
Arsenal also signed two new defenders in Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera last summer, who can both play in Guehi's position.
Playing for the potential champions and a club in London - where Guehi is already based - would have obvious attractions.
Bayern want Guehi as a free agent in the summer and they are the only interested club that can speak to him now. If he wanted, Guehi could sign a pre-contract agreement with Bayern now and move in the summer.
Bayern sporting director Max Eberl has been making calls in recent days to convince Guehi to join the club in the summer, according to Sky in Germany.
A few weeks ago, there was a meeting between Eberl and Guehi's agent at Bayern Munich's training ground.
Eberl has been pushing recently to find an agreement with Guehi to join Bayern as a free agent.
Speaking last week, Palace boss Glasner believes Guehi will not leave the club in the January transfer window.
Asked if he is worried about losing Guehi after Palace's stalemate with Aston Villa, Glasner told Your Site: "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."
Asked if he was worried his captain could leave in January, Glasner added: "No more worried than in the summer because the summer would've been the same.
"If the offer would have been high enough that the club is fine with it and if Marc wanted to go, he wouldn't be a Crystal Palace player anymore.
"I think last January would've been the same and the year before would be the same. Every single player has a price where the club will sell him when you're Crystal Palace and maybe because we're not the end of the food chain in football.
"For me it was a little bit surprising what was made out of it, because it's the exactly same situation as it was in the summer.
"Right now, when I see him playing, when I see him training, when I see his commitment and when we are talking quite often together, then I think the fans can be really be calm but you never know what will happen in football."
