Stubborn Liverpool put title defence on the line as surprise Marc Guehi decision made
Liverpool are risking Premier League and Champions League glory this season after making a new decision on their pursuit of Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi following his failed deadline day move.
Marc Guehi was in-demand at Anfield this summer after a stellar 2024/25 campaign in which he captained Crystal Palace to FA Cup glory.
Former scout Mick Brown told Football Insider in July that Guehi had his heart set on a move to Liverpool, despite interest from Tottenham, but a move away never seemed likely until the end of the window as they focused on other incomings before making a concrete approach for his services.
His Merseyside move was expected to happen as deadline day arrived, with a medical completed and only the finishing touches needing to be applied before the transfer was finalised, but Guehi’s Liverpool switch then collapsed at the last-minute as the Eagles failed to bring in a centre-back replacement in time.
Liverpool have been backed to sign Guehi in January with his Palace contract up next summer and an extension unlikely to be signed, but fresh reports around their pursuit of the England defender could mean they risk failing to build on last season’s success with uncertainty around Arne Slot’s defensive options.
Liverpool decision to snub January approach for Marc Guehi could cost them glory this season
Football Insider revealed on Saturday (6 September) that Liverpool are ready to wait until next summer to sign Guehi, and The Times (7 September) have also reported that the Reds will not revisit their interest in the 25-year-old in the January window.
Liverpool are believed to be “adamant” they will not dip into the winter market for a player who has entered the final year of his contract and will not sign an extension at Selhurst Park, but that decision could prove to be costly this season.
It may make sense from a financial point of view to snub a January move, but Liverpool clearly have no PSR concerns after spending so much in the summer window, and the money they could make back by potentially winning trophies with Guehi would cover his wages and minimal transfer fee regardless.
If Arne Slot is serious about winning a second-consecutive title and better competing in the Champions League after last season’s round of 16 exit, then he should be urging to club to pay up for Guehi as soon as possible rather than risking the whole season with what he already has at his disposal.
There has been a lot of talk about Ibrahima Konate‘s future in the face of the Reds’ Guehi interest, and the Frenchman’s injury troubles have already reared their head this season as he went off against Arsenal, while he looked all at sea in previous games against Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Joe Gomez simply isn’t good enough to win them trophies if he has to play consistently, which seems likely as he is now their third-choice centre-back, as shown by the fact he has never been able to nail down a genuine starting place in his eight years in the Liverpool first-team.
Their other recognised centre-back option is summer signing Giovanni Leoni, who is obviously highly-rated, but is also completely unproven at just 18-years-old, so cannot be expected to perform at the top level this season.
Not signing Guehi in January just seems like a massive oversight that Liverpool might well live to regret come next May, especially if he has his head turned by other big teams.
Marc Guehi is wanted by other top clubs – he could end up snubbing Liverpool in anger over delays
Liverpool are now not the only team in the race for the Palace defender’s services, with former scout Mick Brown telling Football Insider on Friday (5 September) that Real Madrid and Barcelona are each eyeing a move for Guehi.
While he has always had his heart set on joining the Anfield outfit, the way his transfer saga panned out could have soured his feelings towards that move, and it would obviously be tough to snub either La Liga giant regardless.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 160 | 9 | 4 |
Liverpool wanted Guehi all along, yet according to Sky Sports, they waited after the two sides played each other in the Community Shield on 10 August to actually begin negotiating with Palace about a player who they were very clearly going to try and keep hold of unless their £35million price-tag was matched.
The Athletic have also claimed that they knew they had gambled by waiting until the last day of the window to formally sign Guehi, but thought their approach would pay off, and so the 25-year-old does have every right to be annoyed at Liverpool following what has gone on.
They are also, then, tempting fate by waiting until next summer to sign him, as he may well be approached by another club in January and accept that move instead, which would be a huge blow to Liverpool after they only really targeted him as a centre-back addition this summer.