Crystal Palace agree £17.5m deal as mixed Marc Guehi reports emerge on Wednesday

According to reports on Wednesday afternoon, Crystal Palace have agreed a deal to sign Wolfsburg centre-back Maxence Lacroix; a move that could boost our hopes of landing Marc Guehi.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reveals that the Frenchman is expected to sign after a deal worth £17.5m was agreed with the Bundesliga club. He reports that personal terms haven’t been agreed as of yet, while other outlets insist they will not be a problem.

On Guehi, The Guardian’s Ed Aarons states that Newcastle are yet to submit a new offer for the Palace captain, ‘as things stand’, while The Independent’s Miguel Delaney claims the deal may ‘go down to the wire’ ahead of Friday’s 11pm deadline as the Eagles are refusing to lower their £70m asking price.

However, the i’s Mark Douglas has issued a far more positive update on our attempts to sign the 24-year-old today, saying: ‘Guehi’s move has jolted significantly closer in the last 24 hours, with fresh dialogue edging the clubs towards an agreement – and that could come as early as Wednesday after Crystal Palace’s Carabao Cup game against Norwich City.’

It’s been a painfully slow saga that’s been played out in public for almost four weeks now, but let’s hope Palace’s move for Lacroix moves things along today; even if they’d have both Guehi and Joachim Andersen (now at Fulham) to replace.