Liverpool handed Joel Ordonez transfer boost as $49M decision made

Crystal Palace has had a £34.6 million ($49.6 million) bid for Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez rejected, giving Liverpool the opportunity to make a late move for the 21-year-old center-back

Joel Ordonez continues to be linked with Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

Crystal Palace have had a £34.6 million ($49.6 million) bid for Joel Ordonez turned down, providing a boost to Liverpool.

The Reds have been consistently linked with the Club Brugge player throughout the winter transfer window. However, it seems that Arne Slot is up against some tough competition in the quest to secure the center-back's signature, with Palace also keen on a deal.

The Athletic suggests that the Eagles are in need of defensive reinforcements following the loss of Marc Guehi to Manchester City last month. Oliver Glasner may need to look elsewhere after Palace's deadline day offer for the 21-year-old was rejected due to falling short of his Belgian club's valuation.

This could potentially pave the way for Liverpool to swoop in with a last-minute bid.

While the Reds have verbally agreed to a deal for Rennes' Jeremy Jacquet, it's believed that the center-back will stay put at his current club until the summer to aid their Ligue 1 campaign.

With Liverpool's central defence looking rather sparse, it might be prudent for the club to find a solution before Monday's deadline.

Arne Slot needs reinforcements at the back(Image: Getty Images)

This comes as club legend Jamie Carragher encouraged Slot to search the market for a defender capable of playing in the second half of the 2025-26 season.

Speaking on Sky Sports, he stated: "Liverpool need reinforcements in that area right now, but they definitely need it in the summer.

"It looks as though [Ibrahima] Konate is going to move on - he's still not signed a contract yet. I think they're getting in young center-backs for the future.

"Unfortunately, [Giovanni] Leoni - who they signed last summer - has got an ACL injury, so we won't see him, as well. I would still like to see Liverpool sign another defender today, because I think they will need one before the end of the season."

When asked whether the postponed transfer is causing frustration given Liverpool's current injury concerns, Carragher continued: "Yes. But when the deal has been done with Rennes, that may have been part of the deal over the line.

"It's not going to disrupt their season in France, now, so I can understand it as he is their player, so they have to play by their rules. Liverpool have paid top money. The future bodes well at center-back, but they have pressing problems right now they need to fix."

Beyond Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez, Liverpool is presently short of options at center-back.

Giovanni Leoni sustained an ACL injury on his debut in September and has been sidelined for the remainder of the season, while the Reds opted to offload Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen last summer.