With the final hours of the summer transfer window in motion, Liverpool are looking for one last swoop with Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi their priority on Deadline Day as Arne Slot looks to revamp his defence.
Guehi is in the final year of his contract with the Eagles and is available for just £35 million, so a switch to Anfield could only be a matter of time considering he could depart Selhurst Park as a free agent next year – a risk which his employers want to mitigate.
While the two clubs remain in talks for Guehi, personal terms are unlikely to pose much of an issue, although BBC Sport has reported that Palace are looking to sign Joe Gomez in a swap deal as a like-for-like replacement for their captain.
Joe Gomez has been second fiddle at Liverpool for much of the last two or three seasons, so he may see joining Palace as a good opportunity to play regular minutes, especially in the prime years of his career.
Swap deal possibility remains low
Liverpool currently have only two other centre backs apart from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk – Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez. Marc Guehi’s signing is due to Arne Slot wanting depth in the back four and a swap would defy that purpose.
For only £35 million, Liverpool will comfortably be able to afford Guehi in spite of their mammoth spending so far in the summer, so there is no reason for the Reds to let go of a decent squad player, who is reasonably experienced too.
The Reds also need to be mindful that Ibrahima Konate might leave the club as a free agent in 12 months with Real Madrid hovering over his services, and contract talks for him not progressing in the right direction.
It will be interesting to see whether Crystal Palace are ready to let Marc Guehi go without signing a replacement in the next few hours, or whether they are willing to hold onto him and lose him for free next year.
