Manchester City are considering a move for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi, with the south London club expected to demand around £40m for the defender who is out of contract in the close season.

Palace’s fee expectation for their captain is £5m more than the price quoted to Liverpool when the Merseyside club came close to signing him last summer. This reflects the disruption to Palace’s season if Guéhi does depart and their need to replace the 25-year-old.

City’s interest comes after Josko Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture, or a shinbone break, on his right leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. The club said the 23-year-old will have surgery. While they did not put a timeline on his absence, he is likely to be out for an extended period.

Rúben Dias was also injured in the game, though his prognosis is yet to emerge, and with John Stones already absent through persistent injury, Pep Guardiola is without three frontline centre-backs. As the physical robustness of a fourth, Nathan Aké, is also a concern, City have moved to target Guéhi.

Yet as the player is a free agent in the close season whether he would choose to move now is unclear – a sizeable signing-on fee would be lost if so. As a first choice in Thomas Tuchel’s England team Guéhi also needs to be sure of consistent playing time before this summer’s World Cup.

Beyond City, Guéhi remains of interest to Liverpool, and he is also admired on the continent, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid among potential suitors.

Regarding Gvardiol, a City statement read: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the injury and expected prognosis. Everyone at the club wishes Josko a speedy recovery.”

The Croatia international said he would “fight every day to return stronger”, adding on X: “This is a hard moment, but it will never define me. I know who I am and where I come from.”