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Liverpool will reportedly not be in the market for any other central defenders this week if they fail to secure Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi.
The England international has been a key target for most of the window. Arne Slot's team have already strengthened their attacking line-up, with the signings of Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz and are still in pursuit of Alexander Isak.
They also added full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez to their ranks at the start of the window. However, former Chelsea defender Guehi remains a player of interest for the Reds, as his contract at Palace is set to expire in less than a year, making him available for less than his actual market value.
As it stands, he could be snapped up on a free transfer next summer, although Liverpool may not want to wait that long. Despite Guehi's contract situation, the south London club is reportedly demanding around $53.8million for the 25-year-old.
If Liverpool can't secure Guehi, they're likely to refrain from adding any more central defenders to their squad. According to The Athletic, Liverpool don't have a 'Plan B' lined up if they fail to bring Guehi to Anfield.
This isn't unusual for the Merseyside club, who often don't sign an alternative if they can't land their primary target. This was the case when they signed Virgil van Dijk in January 2018, after failing to lure him away from Southampton the previous summer.
It seems to be a similar scenario with Guehi. The Anfield hierarchy has pinpointed this summer as the ideal window to secure the England centre-back, with his contractual circumstances providing the Reds with negotiating power to drive down Palace's asking price ahead of Monday's deadline.
That does not mean Palace will be easy negotiators, having rejected Newcastle's offer which was north of $94m last summer, as reported by Chronicle Live.
Nevertheless, with Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni – a recent £26m signing from Parma – at their disposal, the Merseysiders will not pursue another centre-half if they cannot reach an agreement for Guehi. This represents Liverpool's stance, despite Gomez's injury history and the uncertain future surrounding Konaté, whose Anfield deal runs out next summer.
The France international has attracted attention from Real Madrid, who are reportedly preparing an approach for him next season when he becomes available on a free transfer. Until that point, Konaté is anticipated to remain as Van Dijk's central defensive companion, unless players like Leoni can dislodge him from his role.
At 6ft 5in tall, the 18-year-old, left-footed centre-back is believed to be widely regarded as Van Dijk's long-term replacement. Slot has undoubtedly been taken with him since his Anfield arrival.
The Dutch manager said: "If you look at his transfer fee, you can expect that he is already quite grown up for his age, and that's exactly what I saw. He comes in as an 18-year-old just playing with his new team-mates as if he is here for longer.
"Impressive; if you look at how tall he is, fast, comfortable on the ball. Yeah, there's a reason why we paid the transfer fee we did, because we see him as a bright prospect."
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