1 week ago
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Liverpool is once again battling Atletico Madrid for the signing of Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi after the Reds narrowly missed out on him in the summer.
A $46 million deal was close to completion with Guehi even passing his medical, before Palace chairman Steve Parish pulled the plug, with manager Oliver Glasner refusing to approve the move until a replacement was secured. The collapse has since been viewed as a major missed chance for Liverpool, especially given its defensive issues and the injury to young centre-back Giovanni Leoni.
The situation has now become even more complicated, as Guehi’s contract expires at the end of the campaign, allowing him to negotiate a pre-contract with foreign clubs from January 1, giving Atletico a clear advantage.
Italian journalist Matteo Moretto told Spanish outlet Marca: "The latest news is that Atletico Madrid has also contacted his representatives. There are English teams, Bayern Munich, Barcelona… but also Atletico, who are very attentive and very interested."
Manchester City and Real Madrid are also monitoring the 25-year-old, making any assumption that Liverpool are favourites to sign him “wide of the mark.” The Athletic reports that Guehi plans to hear out all interested clubs before deciding, with his priority being a move to a team capable of competing in the Champions League.
Palace must now balance the risk of losing him for free in the summer against accepting a reduced fee in January, all while considering his importance to the squad given his consistently strong performances.
Liverpool may ultimately need to revisit its previous summer offer to convince both Guehi and Palace, despite his contract running down.
In recent seasons, Liverpool have slipped behind in several major transfer races, most notably losing out on Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal and Leny Yoro to Manchester United.
However, former Anfield great Jamie Carragher has recently urged Liverpool to do everything possible to bring Guehi to Anfield in January.
Speaking on the Overlap, Carragher stated: "Liverpool need to spend in January, they need to buy a centre-back, they should have bought a centre-back in the summer. Liverpool are probably one injury away at centre-back from really derailing the season, so they have to go to the market in January. I do feel that they did need to bring that number of players in during the summer."
Liverpool.com says: Liverpool can't afford to let Guehi slip again. Given his contract situation and Champions League ambitions, the competition will only intensify. If Liverpool truly see him as a long-term defensive leader, they need to move decisively now or accept that another top European side will.
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