Liverpool continue to be linked with in-form Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehiplaceholder image
Liverpool continue to be linked with in-form Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi | Getty Images
Liverpool have been tipped to rekindle their interest in a long-term target in January
Liverpool have been advised to take a leaf out of Real Madrid’s book by moving swiftly to secure a long-term transfer target in January before his contract eventually expires in the summer.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes the champions should make a £20m offer to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi this month, drawing parallels with Real's early acquisition of Trent Alexander-Arnold during the most recent summer window.
Trent joined Liverpool’s academy as a youngster in 2004 and spent a combined total of 21 years with his boyhood club, progressing into a first team regular, a Champions League winner, vice captain while even winning the Premier League title on two occasions. He played 354 matches for the Reds but allowed his contract to run down towards the end of last season unlike Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk who both signed extensions. However, Liverpool still received a £10m fee for Trent due to Real Madrid’s desire to have in the building in time for the Club World Cup.
Maguire feels Liverpool should take a leaf out of the capital side’s book by doing something similar this term and signing Guehi mid-season instead of waiting until his contract expires in the summer.
Liverpool tipped to make cut-price move for Guehi
Football finance expert Maguire urged Liverpool to be proactive in their pursuit of Guehi. He told Mirror Sport: "Everybody's looking at centre-half, given that they thought that they'd signed Guehi in the summer and then that deal collapsed at the last minute.
"So could they sign him now in a bid not dissimilar to the situation that we saw with Trent Alexander-Arnold? He went to Real Madrid with four weeks of the transfer window before his contract ran out, but that qualified him for the Club World Cup.
"So they got £10m there. Could Palace get £20m for Guehi in January? Certainly they could. Liverpool are in a prime position to sign him because they're an attractive proposition."
Guehi could transform Liverpool’s fortunes - opinion
Liverpool’s lack of options in central defence have been well documented throughout the campaign. The ever reliable Van Dijk hasn’t hit the levels of last season while Ibrahima Konate has just six months to run on his deal and appears no closer to signing an extension at this moment in time.
The Reds’ failure to land Guehi means that Joe Gomez is currently the only backup option following Giovanni Leoni’s costly ACL injury.
Despite spending a staggering figure in the region of £450m on new recruits, Maguire claims that Liverpool are in a great position to bring Guehi to the football club due to the club’s strong status in terms of PSR from good business in prior transfer windows.
He said: “They've never been in danger [of breaching spending rules].They're only paying £63 in wages for every £100 that comes through the door. So again, that gives them plenty of headroom."
Bringing Guehi to Liverpool would arguably give the club the strongest centre-back pairing in the division or certainly one comparable to Gabriel and William Saliba at Arsenal.
Guehi is in the prime of his career at 25-years-of-age, has almost half a decade of Premier League experience under his belt and is widely considered the England national team’s strongest defensive option.
He’s already at the top of his game as proven by his performances at Crystal Palace having helped the Eagles to a first ever major trophy, while he’d only benefit further from the prospect of playing with Van Dijk.
Signing Guehi in January would give Liverpool a stronger chance of climbing the league table, and crucially going all the way in Europe as the Reds aim to regain the Champions League for the first time since winning it in 2019.
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