Liverpool ‘have no plans to pay £45m-50m’ for Marc Guehi as a transfer expert reveals four Reds targets which provide ‘evidence’ of sporting director Richard Hughes’ ‘primary focus’ in their search for a centre-back.
The Reds are comfortably this summer’s biggest spenders, with nearly £200m invested to make those five additions so far, with more moves expected from sporting director Richard Hughes to bolster Arne Slot’s title-winning squad.
Slot also wants to add a striker to his ranks to replace Darwin Nunez, who is reportedly nearing a move to Napoli, and have been linked with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike as an alternative to ‘dream’ target Alexander Isak.
But Liverpool are also facing a something of a centre-back crisis having agreed to let Jarell Quansah leave for Bayer Leverkusen for £35m without agreeing an extension for Ibrahima Konate.
The Frenchman is said to have been ‘disappointed’ with the Reds’ contract offer and has now decided he wants to run down his contract and ‘leave’ when it expires at the end of next season amid interest from Real Madrid.
That’s the nightmare ‘scenario’ for Hughes and Liverpool, with reports suggesting they will look to find a buyer for the 26-year-old this summer to avoid the same fate which saw them lose Trent Alexander-Arnold to Los Blancos for nothing.
That blow appears to have strengthened the club’s resolve to land Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace as a report on Saturday claimed Liverpool are ‘closing in’ on Guehi as they have moved into ‘pole position’ for the centre-back.
But transfer expert Ben Jacobs has since revealed that Liverpool won’t pay Palace’s asking price for Guehi and will walk away from the deal if that price isn’t lowered significantly as Hughes would rather sign a younger centre-back than a 24-year-old who costs that much with just a year left to run on his current deal.
He wrote on X: ‘Liverpool will only advance their interest in Marc Guehi if Crystal Palace’s asking price drops. #LFC have no plans to pay £45m-£50m.
‘Price would need to be well south of this bracket. Liverpool are still assessing whether Guehi is a genuine market opportunity. Palace open to a sale, but Guehi hasn’t ruled out running down his current deal. Game time key for Guehi in a World Cup year.
‘Liverpool also have other targets. Understand Richard Hughes is primarily focused on the 18-22 age bracket. Liverpool are inclined to bring in a defender who is Jarell Quansah’s age or younger, unless a deal for Guehi is simply too strong not to proceed with.
‘There is appreciation for Jorrel Hato, which is shared by Chelsea and Arsenal. Liverpool looked at Dean Huijsen earlier this summer, but soon realised he was prioritising Real Madrid once they entered the race.
‘Leny Yoro and Levi Colwill also historical targets. The former wanted immediate assurances of minutes, which Liverpool couldn’t guarantee. Both players further evidence of the ideal profile Liverpool are looking for.’
A report earlier on Sunday suggested Liverpool are ‘ready to throw flying Scot Ben Doak into a swap deal’ for Guehi.
The 19-year-old impressed on loan with Middlesbrough in the Championship last term with three goals and seven assists in 24 appearances.
The Reds bosses reportedly value him at £25m, which has led Everton to back away from a deal having shown interest in the teenager, and are now prepared to use him as a makeweight in a deal for Guehi.
It’s not clear whether Palace would be at all interested in such a deal and the report concedes that it ‘will take a great deal of negotiating’.