Liverpool has reportedly made Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi its top summer target — despite also being in the market for a new striker. Jarell Quansah is close to finalising his transfer to Bayer Leverkusen, which will result in Arne Slot losing a defender ahead of next season's title defense.
England international Guehi is approaching the final 12 months of his contract at Selhurst Park, and this summer presents the last chance for Palace to secure a substantial fee or risk losing him for a reduced price in January or for nothing when his contract expires next summer.
The Liverpool Echo reported this week that with Palace nearing a deal for Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP, Liverpool is happy to bide its time for Guehi.
Quansah completed his medical for a move to the Bundesliga on Monday, just days after he played a key role in Lee Carsley's England Under-21s' European Championship triumph in Slovakia.
Ibrahima Konate is reportedly drawing attention from European champion Paris Saint-Germain and La Liga heavyweight Real Madrid as he also enters the final 12 months of his contract.
It's already been a bustling summer for the Premier League champions, with Trent Alexander-Arnold's hotly contested departure, as well as a spending spree that saw the Reds secure Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
Amidst speculation surrounding Darwin Nunez's stint at Anfield following underwhelming performances, Napoli has shown interest in after Al-Nassr had its overtures rebuffed back in January.
If Nunez does end up departing, it might seem logical for Liverpool to search for a new striker, but Sky Sports Germany's correspondent Florian Plettenberg suggests the Reds have more pressing plans in the transfer market.
Marc Guehi is at the top of Liverpool's wishlist
Marc Guehi is at the top of Liverpool's wishlist (Image: Getty Images)
"Understand Marc Guehi is now at the top of the list for Liverpool," he reported on X. The journalist reported that "Advanced talks are taking place between Liverpool and the 24 year-old center-back, with Liverpool trying to close the deal." He added that the "England international remains under contract with Crystal Palace until 2027."
However, Plettenberg did also report separately that Liverpool does have a three-man striker shortlist which includes Victor Osimhen, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitke.
The suggestion is, though, that if push came to shove, Slot would prioritize a new center-back over a new striker, and that makes complete sense considering Quansah's departure is set to leave Liverpool with just three senior central defenders in Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.