Crystal Palace “would rather take £50million up front” for Marc Guehi from Liverpool than a swap deal involving Ben Doak, according to reports.
The Reds are looking to improve their options in central defence ahead of next season after Jarell Quansah joined Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth around £35m.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot is looking to improve the depth at centre-back in case Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate get injured or suspended during the season.
Guehi has shot to the top of their targets this summer with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reporting last week that Liverpool “will sign a defender” with conversations continuing over a deal for the Crystal Palace defender.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Liverpool will sign a defender this summer, and one of the players they’re seriously considering remains Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace. For Marc Guehi the conversations continue, and this week there will be more, so get ready for more contacts between Liverpool, the camp of the player and Crystal Palace.
“The conversations are ongoing. The player is really appreciated by Liverpool. It’s also true that Marc Guehi wants a guarantee of playing time, but Liverpool are speaking to the player’s camp. They’re presenting their vision, their idea, their plans, so let’s see what happens there. For sure, Marc Guehi remains a strong target for Liverpool.
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“Also, I can tell you that Marc Guehi is not going to sign a new contract at Crystal Palace. It’s a big opportunity for Palace to sell the player this summer and not to lose him on a free in 2026; and for Liverpool there’s a chance to attack the situation and get the player for a good transfer fee. Marc Guehi remains one of the main names – not the only one – on the list at Liverpool.”
Former Manchester United and Tottenham scout Mick Brown – who is still well-connected in the Premier League – insists that Crystal Palace would rather take £50m for Guehi than £30m and Ben Doak, with a swap deal rumoured.
Brown told Football Insider: “I’m sure a swap is something Liverpool would like to do. They want to sign Guehi and Palace are interested in Doak, so on the face of it, it might make sense for the two players to switch clubs.
“It won’t be as easy as that, though, because the value isn’t there for Palace. Liverpool want £30million if they’re going to sell Doak, so they could say to Palace ‘we’ll give you £30million plus Doak’ and value that as a £60million deal.
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“But from a Palace point of view, if they don’t think he’s worth £30million, the deal doesn’t make sense. Palace don’t want to come out of that deal on the losing side.
“They would rather take £50million up front because then it’s money in the bank. They can go out and sign somebody like Doak or another attacking target with that money.
“I think they’ve got the stronger hand because ultimately it’s Liverpool who want Guehi, so Palace can demand whatever they want for him.”