Liverpool remain firmly interested in Marc Guehi after falling agonisingly short of signing him four months ago, and it seems that he’s not the only English centre-back of interest to the Reds.
On Monday, BBC Sport reporters Sami Mokbel and Shamoon Hafez broke the news that Manchester City have become increasingly interested in a potential swoop for the Crystal Palace captain, whose proposed deadline-day move to Anfield last summer was scuppered at the 11th hour.
Paul Gorst revealed this evening that the Merseyside club are nearing a deal to sign Senegalese teenager Mor Talla Ndiaye, although that’d be with the intention of linking up with the under-21 side rather than becoming an immediate first-team option for Arne Slot.
According to one media outlet from France, Liverpool have eyes on signing another English centre-back if they’re unable to land Guehi.
Liverpool ‘closely monitoring’ Charlie Cresswell
Sport.fr reported that the Reds and Newcastle are ‘closely monitoring’ Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell, in whom Man City have also ‘expressed interest’ as the Premier League trio line up a potential swoop for the 23-year-old.
The former Leeds youngster is valued at a modest price point of €25m (£21.6m) and has two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract with the Ligue 1 side, with the report describing him as a player who ‘ticks all the boxes’ to excel in the English top flight.
Liverpool are understood to be 'closely monitoring' Toulouse centre-back Charlie Cresswell
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Cresswell could be a worthy Plan B if Liverpool miss out on Guehi
Cresswell made just 14 appearances in his time at Elland Road but his career has taken flight since joining Toulouse 18 months ago, with the defender netting seven goals in 51 games for his current club.
Hailed as an ‘indispensable’ figure for Les Violets who excels with his ‘reading of the game’ and ‘aerial prowess’ (Sport.fr), his underlying performance metrics over the past year among defenders in Europe’s five main leagues allude to those strengths, as per the table below (citing figures from FBref).
Per 90 minutes Percentile among positional peers
Non-penalty goals 0.18 99th (top 1%)
Non-penalty xG 0.12 99th
Shots 1.21 99th
Aerial duels won 3.71 95th
Clearances 7.03 88th
Blocks 1.5 83rd
His nationality would also help Liverpool greatly in terms of meeting homegrown quota requirements for domestic and European squads, with the Reds currently on the brink of exceeding their allotment in that regard.
A move for Guehi should still be the priority for sporting director Richard Hughes, with the unsuccessful summer pursuit demonstrating that the Anfield hierarchy view the Palace skipper as an ideal fit for Slot’s side.
If Man City are to win the race for the 25-year-old, though, perhaps a modicum of revenge could be exacted if the Merseyside giants were to follow through on their reported interest in Cresswell and bring the ex-Leeds colossus back to England.