Liverpool reportedly “have no plans” to pay Crystal Palace‘s asking price for Marc Guehi, with the Reds instead expected to offer significantly less than what the selling club want.
It was reported by the Mail‘s Lewis Steele earlier this week that Liverpool could “try to lowball” Crystal Palace for Guehi.
Now, a report from talkSPORT‘s chief football correspondent, Alex Crook, has aligned with the previous claim that the Reds will not pay £45 million.
Crook wrote that Liverpool “will only advance their interest” in Guehi “if the price drops significantly south of £45m.”
Steele’s report stated that Liverpool could “try to lowball them at £30 million,” but given Palace turned down a bid of £70m from Tottenham in January, that would seem a low offer from the Reds.
However, with just a year left on his contract, Palace could be forced to take a lower fee as Guehi “has no plans to sign a renewal,” reported Crook.
It isn’t just Liverpool who are interested in Guehi – Arsenal are also believed to have “concrete interest,” according to BBC Sport.
The Reds will hope to avoid being drawn into a bidding war with clubs such as Newcastle and Tottenham, both of whom have previously bid well above the £45m for the 24-year-old defender.
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With Jarell Quansah close to leaving for Bayer Leverkusen, in a move worth an initial £30m, Liverpool will certainly be looking to acquire a centre-back.
As a homegrown player like Quansah, Guehi would be ideal. However, the centre-half may have to consider how much game time he will get at Liverpool.
The Palace defender became a regular in the England team under Gareth Southgate, but he will need to ensure he is playing consistently to be selected by Thomas Tuchel for next summer’s World Cup.
This could be an issue at both Liverpool and Arsenal, with the partnerships of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, as well as Gabriel and William Saliba, well-established at each club.
Ajax’s Jorrel Hato and RB Leipzig’s Castello Lukeba have also been mentioned as centre-back targets for Liverpool, and while they may be seen as alternatives to Guehi it is not impossible that the club will push for two defensive signings.
