Northern Ireland starlet happy to see ‘leader’ Marc Guehi remain at Crystal Palace after Liverpool move collapsed

Justin Devenny has praised his club captain Marc Guehi

While Liverpool fans were left disappointed by the collapse of Marc Guehi’s deadline day move to Anfield one Northern Ireland star delighted.

Crystal Palace’s failure to bring in a replacement for their captain meant the proposed £35m deal was scrapped at the 11th hour with Justin Devenny thrilled to see his captain remain at Selhurst Park.

Devenny was full of praise for his club skipper as he joined up with the Northern Ireland squad for the crucial World Cup qualifiers against Luxembiourg and Germany.

“He’s such a great player and adds so much value to the team,” said Devenny when asked about Guehi.

“He’s a leader on and off the pitch and you can see that the way he acted. He’s been spot on and he’s quality.”

Along with Guehi, Devenny has played his part in the Eagles recent FA Cup success and scored the winning penalty in the shootout win over Liverpool in the Community Shield.

“I said to myself and I said to the manager, ‘I’m going to take one and I want to take the last one’ because I knew I was going to score,” said the 21-year-old.

“I think I just need to believe in myself and show that belief. It’s a penalty to win the game at Wembley, so if I hadn’t taken it, I would have been disappointed in myself.

“It’s been a relatively good start to the season. We’re unbeaten in 14 games leading in from last season and it’s just positives all round.

“Everyone at the club is itching to do well and itching for success because we believe the squad and everyone around the building is capable of doing well, in the league, in the cups and in Europe.”

The midfielder is hoping to carry that feelgood factor into the international set-up and the away double-header to kick-off Group A.

“I’m excited,” Devenny said. “I think the boys in there are excited as well. It’s the World Cup qualifiers, the World Cup is a big stage and I can guarantee every single one of the boys wants to be playing at the World Cup.

“We know the games will all be tough but every game has a purpose for us to try and get as many points as we can and believe we can get as far as we can.”