Man City's hopes of signing Guehi are dashed.

The English Football League (EFL) has not changed the Carabao Cup rules to allow central defender Marc Guehi to play in the final against Arsenal on March 22nd.

Guehi's absence could be a major blow to Manchester City's defense.

Previously, manager Pep Guardiola hoped the EFL would agree to let Guehi play in the final, after Man City failed to register the player in time before the semi-final.

The current Carabao Cup regulations state that a player is only allowed to play for two clubs in the same season if the transfer to a new team takes place before the first leg of the semi-final.

Guehi only joined Man City after the first leg of the semi-final against Newcastle United. Therefore, he was ineligible to play in the second leg of the semi-final or the final. Pep believes this rule is quite unreasonable and hopes the EFL will change it.

Pep Guardiola expressed his bewilderment and disappointment about the rule: "I don't understand that rule. The club invests heavily in buying players, and yet he's not allowed to play in the final. Hopefully, we can write a letter to convince the Carabao Cup (EFL) to let Marc Guehi play in the final."

However, according to Sky Sports, the EFL has decided to maintain the current regulations and will not change them to make concessions to Man City.

This decision is final and does not allow Guehi to participate at Wembley. Notably, the EFL had previously relaxed several regulations at the start of the 2025/26 season to allow players to play for two clubs if they transferred before the first leg of the semi-final.

It was thanks to this change that Antoine Semenyo (from Bournemouth to Man City) was allowed to play in both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final despite having played for Bournemouth in the previous round. However, Guehi's case was different.

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Source: https://znews.vn/man-city-vo-mong-voi-guehi-post1625704.html