\n<\/p>\n
After a summer when the noise around the transfer window threatened to reach deafening levels, with players forcing moves through by going on strike and releasing angry statements on social media, it was refreshing to see Marc Gu\u00e9hi do his talking on the pitch during England\u2019s thrashing of Serbia.<\/p>\n
The defender\u2019s understated brilliance during an impeccable team performance in Belgrade was nothing new. Gu\u00e9hi is a fine player, so smooth in everything he does on and off the ball. It is why Liverpool wanted to sign him. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, though, it is also why he became the main character in one of the transfer window\u2019s biggest stories when Crystal Palace ended weeks of uncertainty by refusing to sell him to the Premier League champions on deadline day.<\/p>\n
The frustration was immense. Gu\u00e9hi had completed his Liverpool medical. He had neither sought the limelight, nor threatened to down tools. He remained the consummate professional, even marking what most assumed would be his final appearance for Palace by scoring a stunning goal in their 3-0 win over Aston Villa.<\/p>\n
Yet with Palace unnerved by Oliver Glasner making it clear his future as their manager would be up in the air if Gu\u00e9hi were sold the deal was called off. The timing was off. Eberechi Eze realised his dream, leaving for Arsenal. But with Eze gone Gu\u00e9hi ended up paying the price for Palace\u2019s desire to keep Glasner happy.<\/p>\n
Palace\u2019s predicament was not Gu\u00e9hi\u2019s problem. He is entitled to prioritise his career. Gu\u00e9hi wants to play at the highest level. He proved that he belonged there at Euro 2024. Gu\u00e9hi knows his worth. The Premier League champions wanted him. Being denied the chance to represent Liverpool in this season\u2019s Champions League was a blow and it would not have been a surprise if Gu\u00e9hi\u2019s head had been spinning by the time he joined the England camp before their World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.<\/p>\n
Yet there was no public show of anger, no self-pitying statement, no indication that Gu\u00e9hi was about to go to war with Palace. Instead he knuckled down and focused on convincing Thomas Tuchel that he deserves to be a regular starter in England\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n
Tuchel did not seem sold on Gu\u00e9hi\u2019s qualities when he took charge of England. There were whispers that the German was not sure about the former Chelsea player. Gu\u00e9hi was crucial at the Euros but he was on the sidelines when England opened the Tuchel era with a partnership of Dan Burn and Ezri Konsa against Albania in March.<\/p>\n
Did it unsettle Gu\u00e9hi? He started England\u2019s next game, a victory over Latvia, but almost gave away an early goal after a mix-up with Jordan Pickford. It was uncharacteristic. Gu\u00e9hi had earned Gareth Southgate\u2019s trust. Now he had to prove himself all over again to Tuchel.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Marc Gu\u00e9hi has won Thomas Tuchel over with his recent performances for club and country.<\/span> Photograph: Manjit Narotra\/ProSports\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Yet it was too soon to panic. Gu\u00e9hi starred for Palace as they won the FA Cup, then missed England\u2019s sullen June camp. Others came in but nobody impressed. There were questions over Burn\u2019s distribution during the win over Andorra in Barcelona. Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah then struggled against Nicolas Jackson when England were beaten 3-1 in a friendly with Senegal.<\/p>\n England\u2019s defence was in a state of flux. Time has caught up with Southgate\u2019s preferred back four of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. Others have had to step up. It was not ideal when Colwill picked up a serious knee injury during pre-season. He excelled for Chelsea during their victorious Club World Cup campaign. His defending has improved and his ability to play quick line-splitting passes heightens his appeal.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Sign up to Football Daily<\/span><\/p>\n Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Tuchel needs his defenders to be comfortable on the ball. England have faced low blocks during qualifying. It requires them to be snappy with their passing. They have to quicken the tempo and avoid safe options. Their opening goal during their win over Andorra at Villa Park last Saturday came when Gu\u00e9hi stepped forward and clipped a clever pass into midfield.<\/p>\n It had been a surprise to see him start as the right-sided centre-back against Andorra. Tuchel had suggested that Gu\u00e9hi was competing with Burn for the left-sided slot, but it was Konsa who made way. Then again Gu\u00e9hi is adaptable. He plays on the left of a three for Palace but is equally adept in a four. Little fazes him. He has won Tuchel over. There was no question of dropping Gu\u00e9hi for the intimidating trip to Belgrade. Tuchel made the correct call. He put Burn on the bench, stuck with Gu\u00e9hi and brought Konsa back.<\/p>\n It was the right fit. Gu\u00e9hi and Konsa are quick, strong and good on the ball. They read the game well and are technically sound. There were some lovely moments from Gu\u00e9hi during the first half. He was imperious in possession, spinning out of tight positions, carrying the ball, setting moves in motion. England purred. The back four connected with the midfield. Gu\u00e9hi and Konsa did not give Dusan Vlahovic a kick.<\/p>\n The bonus for both was scoring their first international goals. More important for Gu\u00e9hi and Konsa, though, was offering proof that they could be England\u2019s first-choice pairing at next summer\u2019s World Cup. Tuchel was impressed. \u201cHe was the best teammate possible,\u201d the head coach said after being asked about Gu\u00e9hi\u2019s response to missing out on Liverpool.<\/p>\n Gu\u00e9hi set the example for others to follow. Another year at Palace? Life could be worse. They are in the Conference League and look poised for another excellent season. It is a World Cup year and Gu\u00e9hi will be playing every week. Sometimes there are benefits to staying quiet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After a summer when the noise around the transfer window threatened to reach deafening levels, with players forcing moves through by going on strike and releasing angry statements on social media, it was refreshing to see Marc Gu\u00e9hi do his talking on the pitch during England\u2019s thrashing of Serbia. The defender\u2019s understated brilliance during an<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[650,1891,311,12508,8767,3768,5285,8878],"class_list":{"0":"post-20328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-boost","9":"tag-claims","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-frustration","12":"tag-guehi","13":"tag-marc","14":"tag-triumph","15":"tag-turns"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}