Chelsea and Liverpool are set to look into signing a central defender or two in the summer with there expected to be a tug of war between the two Premier League sides for Marc Guehi’s services. The 24-year-old might leave Crystal Palace this summer as he enters the final 12 months of his deal at the club with a swoop to one of England’s top sides on the cards.
According to the Sunday Mirror (h/t Sky Sports), Liverpool are in pole position to sign Guehi ahead of Chelsea in the summer with Anfield having been described as his ‘preferred destination’. The Reds are sweating over Virgil van Dijk’s future beyond this season whereas Ibrahima Konate has also started being linked with transfers to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid lately.
Guehi will not come cheap in spite of his impending contract expiry, mainly due to the heavy competition for his services that could ensue in the summer. Besides Chelsea and Liverpool, Newcastle United have also been tipped as a potential landing spot for him, just months after Palace slapped a £75 million price tag on their prime central defender.
Liverpool could break the bank for Guehi
Liverpool have been linked with signing a number of forwards in recent months and while that certainly remains an area of the pitch they should ideally rebuild in the summer, it is arguable that the defence deserves just as much attention amid a lack of clarity over the futures of Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk.
If three of their most crucial players are about to leave in the next few months, the Reds require a world-class option at the back and there are not many better players on the market than Marc Guehi. He has been labelled as an ‘unbelievable’ player by compatriot Kyle Walker, who was full of praise for the player’s leadership and professionalism during last summer’s Euro 2024.
With experience in the Premier League under his belt in addition to being a regular in the England national team, Marc Guehi has a compelling enough profile to convince Liverpool into matching his £75 million valuation this summer. It only remains to be seen how much truth there is in Anfield being his go-to choice, especially given that there was talk very recently of him preferring continuity in London, thereby handing Chelsea an advantage.
