Liverpool are in the market for a new centre-back but plans to sign Crystal Palace defender and captain Marc Guehi may not materialise.
With Jarell Quansah’s £30m move to Bayer Leverkusen now official as of this morning, the pressure to replace him has increased slightly although there seems to be little stress behind the scenes at Liverpool.
Why should there be?
The Reds are the Premier League champions, have made the most impressive signings so far this summer and seem ready to spend more money.
That said, a deal to sign Guehi may be in danger according to updates today.
Liverpool deal to sign Marc Guehi may be in jeopardy despite agreement on personal terms
According to a Tuesday report from independent Liverpool site DaveOCKOP, Liverpool have already reached an agreement with Guehi over his personal terms.
While the English defender’s supposed Liverpool contract appears not to be an issue, Crystal Palace seem to be the ones preventing a deal from being completed – as is their prerogative.
The Guardian now reports that Palace are not looking for a fee in the region of £50m but are actually demanding £65m for their captain after he helped guide the Eagles to an historic first ever major trophy by winning the FA Cup last season.
As impressive as that is and as vital as Guehi was to their cup success, Liverpool are not entertaining the idea of spending just £10m less than they paid to sign van Dijk for Guehi, who may not even be a starter for Arne Slot.
Liverpool must either negotiate the fee down to a reasonable price or move on
Liverpool signing Guehi as a backup centre-back to van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate would be the type of signing that would help usher in a period of dominance.
Manchester City are not the super power they once were, Arsenal are yet to prove they can shatter their ceiling and win the league again and Chelsea are still building a ~£2bn squad. Don’t get me started on Man Utd…
Liverpool are very close to a truly superstar squad and adding Guehi would be a great addition.
But £65m is simply too much when a new striker is also needed.
