One player whose future has already been the subject of much conjecture and discussion is Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi.
Guehi was close to Liverpool
It was understood that the 25-year-old had intended to sign for Liverpool during the summer, but an 11th-hour intervention from the South London club scuppered any deal from being concluded.
To Guehi's credit, he hasn't made a fuss over the situation and has instead got his head down and worked hard, perhaps in the knowledge that he could walk away from Palace next summer for free, and thereby ensure himself a bigger pay day in the process.
At present, it's understood that Liverpool are still interested in the centre-back, as well they might be after conceding 24 goals in their 14 Premier League games so far in 2025/26.
Barcelona and Real Madrid are seemingly keeping abreast of the situation too, with Los Blancos struggling badly with injuries to key defenders and Barca struggling to play their high defensive line with anything like the success they managed last season.
Bayern are the latest to court the England international
Now, Bayern Munich have thrown their hats into the ring, with reports in Germany suggesting that the Bavarians' hierarchy have already met with Guehi's agent, and are scheduling a call or meeting with the player early in the new year, when the centre-back is free to talk to other clubs of course.
Given that Newcastle United had previously bid in the region of £65m for Guehi's services and Liverpool had then agreed that £35m fee, to see the player probably end up leaving for nothing has to be put down as a really poor piece of business from the South Londoners.
Having lost Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise in recent seasons, seeing Guehi depart too might well hasten manager Oliver Glasner's own departure from the club.
The Austrian took Palace to their first-ever FA Cup win and subsequent European adventure, as well as landing the Community Shield.
Whilst it's accepted that once you reach the summit of your ambitions (given the constraints Glasner would appear to have to work under), then the only way is down, it would be a great shame for the Palace empire to be crumbling so quickly after that magnificent afternoon at Wembley in May.
Great injury record
In any event, Bayern's intentions are clear, and pairing Guehi with Dayot Upemecano at the back would likely make the Bavarian defence, which has only conceded nine goals in the Bundesliga this season, even more solid.
They'd be getting a player who leads by example and puts his body on the line time and again, and the longest that he's ever been injured in his career is for three months because of a knee complaint, which is quite remarkable.
It speaks to a physical but intelligent player who knows exactly when to time his challenges to perfection.
In his 14 Premier League games so far this season, he's made 26 tackles, 18 of which have been successful. Though that total number may seem on the low side for a centre-back in the top-flight, it does suggest that Palace's midfielders and attackers are helping to keep the opposition busy further up the pitch.
A 69.7% success rate in this regard compares favourably to his teammates, only a couple of whom can top it.
71 clearances made in the Premier League (81 in all competitions) can only be bettered by Chris Richards and Maxence Lacroix, the former starting his professional career at Bayern Munich before moving to Hoffenheim and eventually landing at Palace.
Aerially, Guehi has been imperious, losing only 16 of his 56 headed duels, whilst on the ground he's managed to come out on top in one-on-ones on 82 out of 123 occasions.
One other important aspect of Guehi's game that's often overlooked is the amount of times he wins back possession. Only Tyrick Mitchell (79) has done so more often than Guehi's 77, with 24 of those interceptions coming in the middle third of the pitch.
Decent in the opposition box too
If Bayern are looking for a player that is confident enough to stride out of the back four and leave his sentry at times too, and is then willing to stand toe-to-toe with his opponent despite being essentially well out of position, then Guehi is clearly that man.
He's not frightened of joining his attacking colleagues further up the pitch, and has completed three of the dribbles he's attempted in the English top-flight this season (33%).
A supplementary presence at set-pieces, Guehi has two league goals to his name and has also hit the woodwork twice from his 21 touches in the opposition box, four of which have been shots on target.
Whichever team can persuade Guehi to move from Selhurst Park, it seems clear that they'll be buying a player that will enhance their squad, and undoubtedly improve it.
