Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi this summer, seeing him as a strong option to come in and bolster the defence.
There is no question that the Reds struggled throughout the 2022/23 Premier League season, finishing fifth and missing out on a place in the Champions League.
Liverpool’s midfield constantly proved to be an achilles heel, with Fabinho and Jordan Henderson looking past their best, and players such Thiago, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain constantly finding themselves out injured.
While the middle of the park was the Reds’ biggest problem area, the centre of defence was also an issue, with Virgil van Dijk well short of his best, and Joel Matip and Joe Gomez performing with too much inconsistency.
Jurgen Klopp is expected to bring in a new centre-back this summer and the likes of highly-rated youngsters Levi Colwill and Goncalo Inacio seemingly in the mix to come in.
Now, a new name has entered the fray, however, with Football Insider claiming that Palace star Guehi is a contender to move to Anfield.
The 22-year-old is also wanted by Newcastle United, but Liverpool are ready to “battle” them for his signature, although a bid of around £60m could be required to prise him away from Selhurst Park.
Our thoughts on Liverpool’s interest in Guehi…
Guehi could be a really exciting addition for the Reds this summer, coming in as a young English prospect with a big future, but also someone who could immediately push to be a regular starter.
The Englishman was a rock for Palace for much of last season, starting 37 of his side’s 38 Premier League matches and averaging 3.6 clearances and 1.4 tackles per game.
Now a four-cap England international, Guehi could push to become John Stones’ regular colleague at centre-back for the Three Lions – Harry Maguire is surely slowly on his way out, having fallen out of favour at Manchester United – and he could eventually replace Van Dijk and become Ibrahima Konate’s partner.
The money being talked about is clearly a potential drawback, considering Guehi is still relatively unproven at the very top level, but if Klopp believes he is worth taking a punt on instead of Colwill and Inacio, the manager should be trusted.
