2 days ago
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Michael Owen has offered a cynical, but sadly accurate, verdict of the transfer window following Liverpool’s inability to sign Marc Guehi on deadline day.
The Reds missed out on the Crystal Palace captain despite submitting a deal sheet before the 19:00 BST deadline. A £35million ($47M) fee had been agreed between the clubs, with Palace reluctantly willing to sell its club captain rather than risk losing him for free next summer.
But that reality is now staring Palace in the face after Guehi’s move to Anfield collapsed. The defender, who is understood to be devastated by the events of deadline day, had completed a medical in London and was poised to join the Premier League champions, but Igor Julio’s decision to join West Ham rather than Palace meant no replacement was secured.
Given reports indicated that Steve Parish and Oliver Glasner were in disagreement over whether to sell Guehi, a decision was ultimately made after the Igor snub that the England international would remain at Selhurst Park.
Guehi admitted following Sunday’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa that he did not know what the future held, after scoring a sublime goal on what appeared to be his final appearance for the Eagles.
The 25-year-old has played every minute of Palace’s six matches so far this season, and it’s widely acknowledged that his character and actions were exemplary despite the intense speculation surrounding his future.
It prompted this verdict from Michael Owen on X: “Hmmm. Behave badly and get the move you want.
“Behave like a gentleman and miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. No prizes for guessing how players will act in the future if this is the result.”
Owen’s post is clearly referring to Alexander Isak, who managed to secure a deadline-day switch to Liverpool after downing tools for Newcastle over the summer.
The forward refused to join up with the squad for the pre-season tour of Asia or play any part in Newcastle’s opening three games of the season.
He also publicly criticized Newcastle, claiming in a social media post that the club had broken promises to him.
It backed the Magpies into a corner where they were almost forced to sell their key asset, or risk his value dropping considerably after the window shut.
In the financially driven world of soccer, the latter never felt like a serious option, and Isak completed his £125million ($169M) move to Liverpool on Monday, with Newcastle posting a blunt 37-word statement to confirm the transfer.
The club did not thank Isak for his service at St. James’ Park, wish him luck for the future, or even acknowledge how many goals he had scored during his time in the north-east.
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