Liverpool receive green light from chairman to complete next summer transfer deal
Liverpool are interested in signing Marc Guehi who is in the final year of his Crystal Palace contract.
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has admitted that a sale of Marc Guehi will be considered amid Liverpool's interest.
The Eagles captain is in the final year of his Selhurst Park contract. Guehi has been excellent for Palace since arriving from Chelsea for £20 million four years ago. He has made 156 appearances for the South London outfit and been part of an historic period.
Last season, he captained Palace to FA Cup glory for the first time in the club's history after they earned a 1-0 victory over Manchester City at Wembley. It also earned the Eagles a spot to play Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield - with Palace delivering a triumph on penalties after a 2-2 draw. But given his contractual situation, Palace will not want to risk losing Guehi for free next year. As a result, Parish says that the England international could be sold.
What’s been said
Speaking to reporters after the Community Shield, Parish replied if the Eagles would reluctantly cash in: "We'd have to do that, of course. For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it's a problem for us unfortunately. Joachim [Andersen] went [to Fulham last summer] and we couldn't afford to lose both.
"We then had another bid [for Guehi] in January but that was a different situation. We'll just have to see what happens. But, you know, it needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind."
A price tag of £40 million for Guehi has been mooted, with Chelsea entitled to 20 per cent of any profit made. Last season, Palace rejected bids from Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur for the former Swansea City loanee.
“We’d like to keep hold of him. There’s a price and a situation where we might consider it," Parish told BBC Sport. Somebody [in another interview] said he’s a superstar, so somebody has got to pay superstar money.
“Realistically, homegrown, 24 years old, sensational talent, somebody has to make it difficult for us. At the moment it isn’t. He’ll still be at Crystal Palace at the moment, but it’s not impossible. He is certainly not making anybody’s life difficult, his agents are decent people. It’s a very good situation. Whether he is here or not will make no difference to how he performs.”
Slot’s stance
Liverpool are in need of a centre-back after selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen. With Joe Gomez still recovering from an Achilles injury, captain Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate were the only recognised options for the Community Shield loss. Andy Robertson, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch have all operated in the role during pre-season.
Asked if signing a new central defender is on the agenda, Reds head coach Arne Slot said at his pre-match press conference: “We still have numerous options that can play there. But what I always say, it's the same boring answer as with players that we might bring in or not, I'm really happy with the players we are having and we have numerous players that can play in that position.”