Liverpool remain interested in signing Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi this summer but are yet to engage the Eagles in ‘club to club’ talks.
After selling Jarell Quansah, an argument could be made that based on Joe Gomez’s injury history, signing two new central defenders would be wise but at the same time, Liverpool are already spending a lot of money this summer.
Adding to that may not be wise financially and so it’s likely only one centre-back will join the club this summer although Ibrahima Konate leaving could change that. The Frenchman is not likely to leave even though his contract expires next summer.
Guehi would be a fantastic addition but a lot needs to happen for this particular deal to get across the finish line.
Liverpool need to be careful about how they approach Palace – there is the risk of antagonising them
Speaking to The Redmen TV‘s Transfer Insight show, BBC reporter Sami Mokbel has shared detailed insight into Guehi’s transfer prospects this summer, sending a warning to Liverpool.
He explained: “Centre-back is definitely an area that Liverpool, as I understand, are looking to strengthen and looking to add quality. Marc Guehi is an excellent player…he is a top international European centre-back at that elite level.
“What he also is at the moment is a very intriguing market opportunity for all clubs. It’s that one year left, England international, homegrown player who doesn’t come around that often. From that aspect, let alone how good a player he is, clubs the size of Liverpool who are looking for central defenders, it’d be more of a shock if they weren’t in for him.
“That interest is ongoing. My understanding at the moment is that there isn’t anything club-to-club yet. I expect that to happen in some form or another in the not-too-distant future. It’s down to the clubs reaching an agreement. I don’t know if it’ll be necessarily that easy, knowing how Palace operate.”
Mokbel added: “I don’t think Liverpool can come in with a really low offer and be able to persuade Palace. I think what would be wise from all parties in this situation would be to start the formal part of the deal, go through the front door, speak about a possible fee rather than just slapping a bid on the table, see if they can reach a middle ground.
“I think if Liverpool were to just go in with a low formal bid, what may happen is that you could risk antagonising the selling club. I don’t think you really want that, so if they can, I think all parties probably realise that there is a deal to be done here.”
