Liverpool are reportedly planning to make a move to sign Marc Guehi and after seeing the centre-back depth without Virgil van Dijk against Athletic Bilbao, it’s good timing.
The Reds played Ernesto Valverde’s Bilbao on Monday. Two games were played to give every player in the squad as much game time as they needed with the first gaming ending 4-1 and the second a tighter 3-2 scoreline.
There was so much to be excited by. From Rio Ngumoha to Hugo Ekitike to Florian Wirtz to seeing Mohamed Salah in full flow again, Liverpool are truly back and ready to defend their Premier League title.
Well, almost ready.
Whether or not Alexander Isak is a necessary signing is up for debate but it’s clear that Arne Slot cannot afford to go into the new season without a new centre-back given the way his lack of depth in that area was exposed on Monday evening.
Captain van Dijk was missing due to illness but it revealed what Liverpool would look like in their worst case scenario. Having the Dutchman out for any reason is as alarming as it gets in a defensive scenario for the Reds but without him, Liverpool look horribly short on options.
The first game saw Andy Robertson and 18-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni paired together at centre-half while the second game had Ibrahima Konate paired with Wataru Endo.
There is also an argument to be made that even before Liverpool sold Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, they needed two centre-backs this summer due to Joe Gomez being perrenially injured.
So the news that Liverpool are now ready to move on Guehi is more than welcome.
Liverpool ready to move to sign Marc Guehi to address worrying centre-back scenario
As things stand, injuries to van Dijk and Konate would see Liverpool with worse centre-back depth than the hilarious 2020/21 season when Jurgen Klopp was forced to field twenty different centre-back pairings.
According to Football Insider, Liverpool are now preparing a move to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace.
They report that former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown has inside knowledge
“All of the talk at Liverpool has been about Isak at the moment,” Brown says.
“But from what I’m told, Marc Guehi is still very much on their radar and I’d expect them to make a move before the end of the window.
“I think they regard Guehi as just as important as Isak in terms of the benefit to their squad.
“They’re not totally convinced about Konate, he makes too many errors and could be on his way out when his contract runs out next year.
“They’ve let Jarell Quansah go, and Joe Gomez isn’t going to be the long-term answer at centre-back.
“If they’re going for every trophy available to them, they can’t afford to take chances at the back, and Guehi would represent a very good addition for them.
“He’d be a top signing and I expect they’ll be ready to make a move at some stage.”
