Marc Guehi: ‘We will see the best of Cheick Doucoure in a Palace shirt’
Marc Guehi is convinced that Crystal Palace will see the best of new signing Cheick Doucoure and has outlined the qualities that the midfielder brings to the side.
Doucoure joined the Eagles in the summer from Frech side Lens, with Palace shelling out an initial £18million to secure the Mali international.
The 22-year-old made his first start for the South Londoners in the opening day 2-0 defeat at home to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side. Doucoure played 75 minutes before being replaced by Luka Milivojevic.
“Cheick is a great player – I’m pretty sure we will see the best of him in a Palace shirt,” Guehi told PLP.
“He brings such a calmness to the team, good composure on the ball, and a real fierceness and tenacity in the midfield.
“Hopefully, he can continue to show that throughout the season.
“It’s very important for the team to have top players coming into the club. Challenging for every position allows every player to be on their game and in training and feel as though they need to develop and get better.”
The 22-year-old captained the side at Selhurst Park for the first game of the 2022-23 season against Arsenal – a 2-0 loss.
Lee Carsley also handed Guehi the England U21 captaincy before he was promoted to Gareth Southgate’s senior side after catching the eye with his performances for Palace.
Ivory Coast-born Guehi is not the club captain, but with Luka Milivojevic’s playing time limited and James McArthur injured, Vieira has trusted Guehi with the armband.
“It’s a great privilege,” explained Guehi.
“Not many players in their career get to wear the armband, and I am privileged to have done that a few times for Crystal Palace.
“I’m not the captain of the team, but it’s great to have people helping me who are senior members and leaders of the team to help me grow as a leader as well.
“It’s a nice responsibility – it helps you grow up very quickly. I have to give credit to my team-mates – I’m not out there on my own doing it by myself, I have my team helping me and loads of senior members.
“When I was young, I have always grown into a leadership role, and I have always had people around me helping me develop that leadership side of my game.
“It still needs a lot of time to develop as well, but hopefully I can develop into a great leader, with or without the armband.”
The South Londoners travel to Anfield this evening to take on Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side.
Although they lost Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, the Reds replaced him with Darwin Nunez, who scored on his Premier League debut following his £80million arrival from Benfica.
“I don’t think there is a good time to play Liverpool, really – everyone knows how strong they are as a team,” added Guehi.
“They have got some fantastic players. [They’re] off the back of a really good season, so it’s going to be a tough game.
“We expect it, so hopefully we can go there and put in a good performance.
“You can’t go into games such as this with any fear – you relish the opportunity. I’m blessed to be playing in the Premier League and playing against some of the best players, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for us as a team to show what we can do.”
GUEHI PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD
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