Liverpool ‘in pole position for £35million Marc Guehi transfer in January as Crystal Palace identify replacement’

LIVERPOOL plan to address their recent woes by resurrecting their deal for Marc Guehi in January.

According to Sky Sports in France , the struggling Premier League champions are the “only club truly positioned to sign” the England international.

Guehi was said to be disappointed his Liverpool move collapsed but has remained professionalCredit: Alamy

are also said to hold an interest, but they are not actively pursuing a deal like are.

Although, they can speak to the defender from January and agree a pre-contract to sign him for free in the summer.

For the Reds, the price tag would still be around £35m – around the same fee Liverpool were ready to pay on transfer deadline day last summer.

The clubs had agreed a £35m deal for the 25-year-old following his man-of-the-match performance in a win at and he was given permission to undergo a medical in London.

A deal sheet was then submitted to the Premier League to take the Guehi negotiations beyond the 7pm deadline before the Eagles ultimately decided not to sell.

If Palace did sell Guehi, they’ve identified Ousmane Diomande as the man to replace their club captain.

The Sporting defender attracted interest from last year and has been turning heads around Europe with his performances in Portugal.

Palace chairman Steve Parish was the man who pulled the plug on the deal and he explained he had to do what was right for the club.

“It’s a difficult decision. 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.

“We don’t guess about these 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, 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’.”

As it happens, Palace are sitting in fifth place and have two wins from three games in the Conference League.

However, January is the final window where Palace can make any kind of profit on Guehi, a player Palace signed for £18m from Chelsea in 2021.

Liverpool have not looked themselves for large parts of this season and the defensive partnership of Ibrahima Konate and has come under scrutiny.

Konate is out of contract at the end of the season himself with maintain an interest.

Slot’s men have a goal difference of minus two in the Premier League and only three clubs have conceded more.

Guehi would undoubtedly be a welcome boost to the club’s ranks, but he will want to know he will play most games given England’s World Cup campaign takes place next summer.

BRAGA, PORTUGAL – SEPTEMBER 3: Ousmane Diomande of Sporting CP in action during the Liga Portugal Betclic match between Sporting Braga and Sporting CP at Estadio Municipal de Braga on September 3, 2023 in Braga, Portugal. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)Credit: Getty