Liverpool did make hard work of their 2-1 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur late on Saturday.
Indeed, Arne Slot's men should have cruised to a win away at Spurs, considering Xavi Simons was dismissed in the first half, but the final scoreline would only read 2-1 in the away side's favour, as Richarlison made the final exchanges very interesting in North London by powering home a consolation effort.
Arne-Slot-Liverpool
Still, a win is a win for the Reds, who are now only out of the top four positions in the league on goal difference, as Slot continues to experience a mini-resurgence at the Anfield helm.
Regardless, the January transfer window could be a busy one on Merseyside, as the Dutchman looks towards the future for his starting XI by snapping up some fresh talent.
Liverpool make £66m titan a top target
In the short term, Liverpool will just be focused on collecting more wins, as the fixture list becomes more and more overloaded this winter.
But, in the long term, Slot will already have some targets in mind that can help with the overall overhaul of his ageing squad, with Marc Guehi being constantly talked about as a centre-back target on their shopping list, as Virgil Van Dijk reaches the twilight years of his career now at 34 years of age.
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi
It isn't just solely the 25-year-old on their radar in this department, however, with TEAMtalk revealing that Alessandro Bastoni has emerged as a main target, as they hunt down a successor for their much-loved Dutchman, and that he is viewed as an alternative to Guehi.
The report further states that the Inter Milan warrior could be swayed to move to England, with a £66m price tag placed above his head, amid interest also set to come for his services from the likes of Manchester, Chelsea and other foreign suitors.
Having stood out in Serie A for some time now as a calm, yet forceful defensive presence, the Premier League might soon await Bastoni, with the towering 26-year-old arguably an upgrade on Guehi, when delving deeper into their numbers.
How Bastoni is an upgrade on Guehi
Guehi does, of course, have the added bonus of knowing the Premier League inside out, away from being chucked into the English top-flight like Bastoni, with the Englishman labelled a "Rolls-Royce" at the back for the Eagles by coach David Matthews earlier in the season.
Yet, despite averaging an assured 85% pass accuracy this season to date in league action, and a commanding 5.6 duels won per clash, he isn't without his faults, with Guehi only winning 50% of his duels last time out, as Palace were torn to shreds 4-1 by Leeds United.
Bastoni's numbers over the last year vs Guehi's
Stat - per 90 mins
Passes attempted
Pass completion %
Progressive passes
Progressive carries
Successful take-ons
Shot-creating actions
Progressive passes received
Tackles
Interceptions
Blocks
Clearances
Aerials won
Stats by FBref
He was also uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball at his feet towards the start of December, too, when giving away possession ten times during Palace's 3-0 collapse versus Manchester City, with his numbers - side by side with Bastoni over the last year - also falling flat in many areas, next to the £66m-rated colossus, when staring at the table above.
Amazingly, despite boasting two goals and two assists for the season in league action, his Italian counterpart actually betters him in terms of shot-creating actions, progressive passes, and successful take-ons over the last year, with Bastoni actually coming away from the 2024/25 Serie A season with a mightily impressive six goal contributions under his belt.
On top of that, Bastoni also trumps Guehi in terms of tackles and blocks registered over the last year, despite the Palace defender once being lauded as a "monster" by journalist Bobby Manzi, with the Inter number 95 also coming away from his last Serie A contest versus Genoa with a dominant ten duels won.
The Liverpool target has even been boldly labelled as being "as good as Van Dijk" by Sky Sports' pundit and content creator Nieve Petruzziello, which will be music to the ears of Reds supporters, as the 26-year-old would, no doubt, be expected to be a regular starter in the heart of the Anfield defence, long after Van Dijk has hung up his boots.
alessandro-bastoni-inter-milan-premier-league
Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni.
Of course, there will be slight apprehension to drop £66m on Bastoni's services, considering how much money was dropped in the summer on hit-and-miss acquisitions from Europe.
But, with the evidence outlined above that Bastoni is an upgrade on Guehi, it could end up being lavish money well spent, as Slot goes about reshaping his starting XI even more.
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