Eze and Guéhi to start for Crystal Palace in Europe despite transfer speculation

Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Eberechi Eze and Marc Guéhi will both start in the first leg of Crystal Palace’s Conference League playoff on Thursday and insisted that the England pair remain committed to the club despite continuing doubts about their futures.

It is understood that Tottenham remain in talks over signing Eze and are edging closer to agreeing a fee for the 27-year-old. Liverpool, meanwhile, are leading the race to sign Guéhi but have yet to meet Palace’s valuation of £40m for their captain, whose contract at Selhurst Park expires next year.

Both players started Sunday’s goalless draw at Chelsea despite speculation that Eze could be absent as negotiations with Spurs continue and they would be eligible to play in the Champions League even if selected to face Norway’s cup winners Fredrikstad on Thursday. Glasner was adamant the pair will feature and praised Eze and Guéhi for the way they have conducted themselves this week.

“I think it’s also the right of a club and the duty of a player to give 100% as long as he’s under contract,” said the Palace manager. “On the other side, I know this is the theory. I think many of you were surprised that Marc and Ebs started and played almost the whole game [against Chelsea]. Most of you will be surprised that they will start again tomorrow because of all the rumours, but again, they are committed to the team.

“They have a contract here. They played a crucial part that we could be so successful and they will play a crucial part as long as they are here. When one of the players will leave, which I don’t know at the moment, they want to leave as the players who always give 100% for Crystal Palace.”

Asked whether he was surprised by how Eze and Guéhi have handled the speculation surrounding them, the Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson said: “No, I think the pair of them are great lads and they’re so committed and so professional. I’m sure they’ll keep staying committed throughout and they’re always here to help the team and they’re part of us at the minute, so we’ll keep enjoying it.”

In the first taste of a major European competition in their history, Palace will face Fredrikstad for a place in the Conference League after being demoted from the Europa League by Uefa for contravening its rules on multi-club ownership. Glasner was keen not to underestimate Palace’s opponents but believes his FA Cup-winning side can use the disappointment of missing out on the more prestigious competition as motivation for more success.

“I think if you win the FA Cup, you should be in the Europa League, but the reality is we’re excited for the journey we’re going to go on this season,” he said. “It’s the reward for the club to take part in the European competition for all their effort last season.”

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Meanwhile, Palace are understood to be close to agreeing a deal with Leicester to sign Bilal El Khannouss as a potential replacement for Eze. They have also shown interest in Christos Tzolis but Club Brugge are reluctant to sell the Greek forward this summer.

The former Bournemouth and Newcastle defender Lloyd Kelly – now at Juventus – is an option to replace Guéhi should he depart, and Glasner is keen to add Hwang Hee-chan on loan but must wait until Wolves can secure a replacement for the South Korean forward.

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