The £60m Marc Guehi alternative Liverpool could look to target this summer amid Ibrahima Konate uncertainty
Liverpool are keen to strengthen their defensive options this summer
Liverpool’s pursuit of Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak has so far been the dominant transfer saga of the 2025 summer window. But in the background one of the main issues the club still need to address is the future of Ibrahima Konate and whether they should be looking for a long-term replacement for the Frenchman.
Konate has just one year to run on his contract at Anfield; the same situation both Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold all found themselves in when Arne Slot first arrived.
The former Feyenoord boss was eventually able to persuade both van Dijk and Salah to sign two-year extensions but was unable to keep Alexander-Arnold at the club despite him being the youngest of the trio and arguably the one with strongest allegiances to Liverpool after coming through the academy.
Slot will be keen to avoid a repeat of the Trent saga next summer, with Real Madrid showing strong interest in Konate and potentially using the situation to their advantage to try and buy the centre-back on a free next summer. It leaves Liverpool scouring the market for a centre-back to potentially replace Konate or at the very least add long-term competition to the Red’s back-line so they can go even deeper in the upcoming Champions League campaign.
Liverpool continue to work on Marc Guehi deal
Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi has officially entered the final 12 months of his contract and interest is building. The England international was the subject of immense interest from Newcastle United last summer and was also targeted by Tottenham back in January.
He’s thought to be one of Arne Slot’s top targets this summer. However, there are various factors that will prove crucial in whether Liverpool take steps to formalise their interest. One is whether the price is right, with Palace turning down an offer as high as £65m last summer, and the other is whether the defender is willing to stay at Palace now that European qualification is secured.
There’s also thought to be interest from Newcastle and Chelsea, who could potentially assure the player more regular football, particularly if Liverpool end up keeping Konate. Ultimately, it makes sense for Liverpool to target Guehi, if they still have the funds to do so after potentially adding Isak to their squad for £150m or more, but it’s also worth having other centre back targets in mind.
The £60m Marc Guehi alternative Liverpool could look to target this summer
Liverpool have ambitions of not only becoming the best team in England but also becoming the dominant force on the world stage after spending more than £300m on new recruits to create the Premier League’s answer to ‘the Galacticos’. The Reds are keen to find a suitable centre back partner to Virgil van Dijk and could potentially look to target one of the very best defenders around in the form of Alessandro Bastoni from Champions League finalists Inter Milan.
Bastoni is at the peak of his powers, aged 26, and is a player with experience of success after winning two league titles with Inter, two Coppa Italia trophies, three Supercoppa Italiana, while reaching two Champions League finals, and making it to the final of the Europa League. He’s been at Inter since 2017 when he arrived as a youngster from Atalanta and has been a regular since 2019, making the Serie A Team of the Season thrice and also making the Champions League Team of the Year on two separate occasions. Bastoni has been voted Serie A’s best defender in both of the last two seasons and is also credited with playing a massive role in helping Italy to European Championship glory in 2021.
He’s a left-footed centre back which would perfectly compliment the right-footed Van Dijk and offer excellent balance to Liverpool’s defence. He’s under contract to 2028 and was described by Football Insider as a player crucial to Simone Inzaghi’s plans. However, his manager’s exit to Saudi Arabia could potentially unsettle the player and hand Liverpool an opportunity to test the waters.
Bastoni is perfectly suited to playing the ball out from the back, making 162 progressive passes compared to Guehi’s 134 and Konate’s 113. He also carries the ball much more better than his two counterparts with 62 progressive carries compared to Konate’s 25 and Guehi’s 22 while contributing six assists compared to Konate and Guehi’s two, via fbref. Football Insider explains Bastoni is valued at around £60m, making him expensive but within Liverpool’s budget after an unprecedented summer of spending at Anfield.