Marc Guehi is a target for Liverpool this summer having finalised Jarell Quansah‘s exit, but the latest lofty asking price will not be entertained by the club.
With Quansah having sealed a £35 million move to Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool’s next move in the market is expected to be for a centre-back and the Crystal Palace captain is the prime candidate.
Guehi has entered the final year of his contract and the Mail‘s Lewis Steele previously reported that Palace are thought to be seeking a fee close to £50 million for their No. 6.
It comes after Palace rejected bids from Newcastle and Tottenham of up to £70 million, but the Guardian‘s Andy Hunter has now claimed the asking price is closer to £65 million.
It is a fee that Liverpool will not come close to matching, with Palace needing to rethink their expectations if a deal is to be agreed.
• READ: Marc Guehi would be perfect signing for LFC centre-back vacancy
As per previous reports, Liverpool are expected to “try to lowball them at £30 million,” with it projected that the two clubs could meet in the middle at £40 million.
With Guehi not entertaining a new deal at Selhurst Park, Liverpool will be banking on the player’s desire to move to Anfield to play into their hands and avoid any potential bidding war.
At 24, the Palace captain is an ideal option for Arne Slot who will entrust the centre-back with more game time than he did Quansah as Liverpool juggle four different competitions.
With Quansah’s exit confirmed, we could see an acceleration in the pursuit of his replacement ahead of the club’s return to pre-season early next week.
Ajax’s Jorrel Hato and RB Leipzig’s Castello Lukeba have also been mentioned as centre-back targets for Liverpool, who the club could use to keep Palace at the negotiating table.
It is a busy summer of incomings and outgoings for the club, who announced Giovanni van Bronckhorst as a new assistant coach on Wednesday, in addition to the exits of Fabian Otte and Claudio Taffarel from the goalkeeping department.
