Newcastle United remain in talks with Crystal Palace over a deal to sign England international Marc Guehi. The 24-year-old gained his first minutes for the Eagles in pre-season over the weekend, playing just over an hour in their 1-1 draw with Nantes
Guehi wore the armband for the clash with the French outfit, continuing to captain the Eagles despite doubts over his long-term future at the club and there lies an unseen quality that Eddie Howe and Newcastle are assembling – captaincy credentials. Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles, Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn and Lloyd Kelly have all worn the armband.
Callum Wilson and Fabian Schar have also shown their leadership capabilities during their time at St James’ Park, while Sandro Tonali was tipped to become the next AC Milan captain before moving to Tyneside.
Newcastle have transformed the mentality within the group since the takeover in 2021, assembling a set of mentality monsters that’re required to compete at the top end of the division. Guehi was the youngest consistent captain in the Premier League last season, and an interview with Crystal Palace reveals more about the character the Magpies are pursuing.
“I refused it. I didn’t want it,” Guéhi told cpfc.co.uk when asked about becoming club captain. “I said no out of respect for the players there at the time, the senior lads. I didn’t feel like I could take it or that I should take it because there are players that have had bigger careers than mine, played football for longer than me and are senior members in the team.
“When some people have been at the club for a lot longer than you it’s sometimes natural for them to take on the armband. Just because I arrived in that summer window it was almost foreign to me to think I could be up for that, that title and responsibility.
“I had to go around making sure it was okay for me to have. I think that’s really important from my point of view because you never know how people will react when they see a younger lad take the captain’s armband. For some people it doesn’t mean too much and for some people it means a lot.
“[Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur] said: ‘Take it, just take it.’ Literally just: ‘Take it, it will be good for you. Take it, take it.’… From then on it was great, speaking to other senior members as well… They knew it would be a good thing for my career.
“When you wear the captain’s armband it represents many things: you’re representing your teammates, the club, the fans: when they see you wearing that it means a lot. For me I needed to make sure that I was okay with it or at least that I did it in a way that was respectful to every single person… To be wearing the armband for a club like Palace is an amazing feeling.”
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