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Liverpool might be compelled to strike a deal for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi following suggestions that Oliver Glasner's outfit are poised to cash in during the January transfer window.
Reports indicate that Barcelona and Real Madrid are both eyeing the England international, with the possibility of the Spanish heavyweights potentially tempting him away from the Premier League.
Palace will say goodbye to their skipper at the conclusion of the campaign after he rejected fresh terms at Selhurst Park. Nevertheless, according to the i newspaper, Palace may attempt to generate some revenue from Guehi in the January window, bringing his nearly six-year association with the club to a close.
It's believed that Palace's approach for the forthcoming transfer period is to prevent losing the England centre-half without compensation. As a result, it's speculated that European powerhouses including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City are all monitoring the situation.
Prior to this weekend's Premier League fixtures, Glasner confirmed that Guehi has declined a fresh agreement and will exit at the season's end. Liverpool came close to landing his services during the summer window, but the move collapsed at the final hurdle as Palace were unable to secure a replacement.
"I think Marc has already told us that he doesn't sign a new contract, so he will leave next year," the Austrian stated on Friday. The club wanted (him to stay).
"They offered Marc a new contract. But he said; 'No, I want to make something different'. And that's normal.
"And for us, it's how we can deal with this situation? [What] is the best way to get this next step done? And that's all about how we are talking together."
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish revealed that their involvement in the UEFA Conference League had played a part in the decision to ultimately block the proposed transfer - after their replacement target, Igor Julio, chose to sign with West Ham instead. "It's a difficult decision," he confessed to talkSPORT.
"It's as simple as that these things are never black and white. I decided in the end that, based on the advice that I got and with what I think, that we would have a better season if we kept Marc.
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"We don't guess about these sort of things. If you look at it rationally, if you look at what is worth the place in the Premier League, the fact that we're in the Conference League for the first time in our history, this is a fairly unusual set of circumstances in which to keep a player.
"If we were fighting between the difference of 10th and 14th, and if that was going to be the difference between keeping Marc and letting Marc go, then probably we would have said; 'Right, we should take the money'."
Liverpool were expected to hold off until the conclusion of the 2025/2026 season to try and secure Guehi on a free transfer, but now face a decision with interest from Europe's top clubs - who would also be able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with the defender in January's transfer window.
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