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Crystal Palace is playing hardball with Marc Guehi, which could see Liverpool miss out on signing the center-back this summer.
Liverpool is keen to land the England international, but an agreement over a fee is not close, and with less than two weeks to go until the transfer window closes, there is a very real chance that Guehi will remain at Palace this season.
Palace is open to selling Guehi, but The Independent reported on Monday that there is a $14 million difference in Liverpool's and Palace's valuations of the player. Liverpool is willing to pay $47 million to sign the 25-year-old, but Palace is holding out for $61 million, despite Guehi having less than a year remaining on his contract at Selhurst Park.
The Athletic reports that the Reds view Guehi as an opportunistic prospective signing due to his contract situation, and believe securing a deal for him for the fee that they are willing to pay would represent good business.
Liverpool signed the highly rated 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni from Parma last week, taking the number of center-backs in Arne Slot's squad back up to four — the same amount as last season.
Jarell Quansah's move to Bayer Leverkusen at the beginning of July left Liverpool needing a replacement for the England international, and the acquisition of Leoni saw them fulfil that requirement.
Liverpool is open to making Guehi the fifth center-back in Slot's squad, but will only do so if the terms of the deal make financial sense.
The club is not expected to pursue an alternative center-back target if Guehi does not end up moving to Anfield this year.
Unlike another Liverpool transfer target — Alexander Isak — Guehi has not downed tools at his current club in a bid to force a move, and he received praise from Palace boss Oliver Glasner after the Eagles drew 0-0 with Chelsea on Sunday.
"There are a lot of rumors about Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi, but they were 100 percent with this group in Crystal Palace, and they have proved that in a big way," Glasner said.
"It shows this group have got such great characters.
"We have no influence on all the noise and rumors around us.
"But we know what we want to do and how we want to play. This is what we want to show every single game.
"The players did great today, they showed that everyone is 100 percent committed to Crystal Palace, otherwise it is not possible to get a draw here against a very good Chelsea side.
"You are talking about rumors."
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