How Liverpool could line up with Marc Guehi amid big Ibrahima Konate decision

There’s no rest for Liverpool in the transfer market this summer, and it looks like the Reds are working on their next signing.

With just under three weeks left before the window closes, Arne Slot and Richard Hughes will have to get a move on if they are going to add any more players for this season’s Premier League title defense.

Fortunately, it does seem that work is already underway on addressing one of the big concerns to have emerged this summer, with Liverpool not looking to sign just one new center-back, but two, including Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi.

Various reports claim that Liverpool is stepping up its attempts to sign the England international before the end of the current window, despite Guehi potentially being available for free next summer.

Palace wants $54 million (£40M), having turned down a bid worth up to $88 million (£65M) from Newcastle last year. Liverpool, though, wants to pay less than that.

Instead, The Times’ Paul Joyce suggests that a deal could be done for around $40.5M to $47M, including add-ons, with talks underway between the two clubs.

Not only that, but Liverpool is also trying to sign Parma’s Giovanni Leoni. The 18-year-old is not seen as a potential rival to Guehi, rather an option for the future.

With that in mind, it’s unlikely we’ll see Leoni stepping straight into Slot’s side if he does end up moving to Anfield. Guehi though has every chance of claiming a starting spot right away.

Considering Joe Gomez’s injury problems, Slot would be likely to pick his two starting center-backs from Guehi, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. The latter pair are the current first-choice of course, having formed such a formidable partnership in last season’s title triumph.

With speculation rife over Konate’s future though, Slot may have a decision to make on his place in the side. The Frenchman has been linked with a move to Real Madrid next summer when his contract expires, with talks over a new deal at Anfield having seemingly hit a wall recently.

If Konate’s mind is made up, and he wants to leave Liverpool, then Slot should be looking to the future, and that means Guehi partnering Van Dijk in defense.

The rest of the side takes on a familiar side for those who watched the Community Shield on Sunday, with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch replacing Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones in midfield in what would be the strongest possible team.

Liverpool’s possible line-up: Alisson; Frimpong, Guehi, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike.

There is, of course, another possible transfer that could be done before the end of the window, and one that could see Liverpool’s team change again.

With Alexander Isak seemingly refusing to play for Newcastle again, the likelihood of him joining Liverpool may have just risen, and there can be no doubt that he would earn a place in Slot’s best team.

He might complicate matters a little though after Hugo Ekitike’s arrival, with the Liverpool boss having to decide whether the former Eintracht Frankfurt man would act as Isak’s backup, or whether he could potentially go into rotation with Cody Gakpo on the left.

Either way, the additions of Guehi and Isak would leave Liverpool with quite the team at their disposal.

Liverpool’s possible line-up if Isak signs: Alisson; Frimpong, Guehi, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo/Ekitike; Isak.

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