A new development has been made about Liverpool’s plans to expand their group of central defenders before the 2023–2024 Premier League season…
Are Marc Guehi and Liverpool a match?
In an effort to boost Jurgen Klopp’s team even more, Football Insider reports that the Reds are now considering a summer transfer bid for Crystal Palace center-back Marc Guehi.
According to the source, they are prepared to compete with teams like Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United in the upcoming weeks to recruit the England international.
It is also mentioned that the Eagles want to seek somewhere around £60 million and that their current asking price makes it tough for teams to reach an agreement.
Marc Guehi: How excellent is he?
The right-footed center defender, who is 22 years old, could challenge established defenders like Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, and Ibrahima Konate for a spot in the back.
With Feyenoord in the Netherlands showing interest in Nat Phillips, a player Klopp has referred to as “insane,” his arrival might allow him to be brutally fired from the team this summer.
“Dutch champions Feyenoord are interested in Nat Phillips, who is valued by LFC at around £10m,” reporter James Pearce recently tweeted.
The Eredivisie team wants to sign the defender, therefore the German manager must take advantage of that desire by approving his departure before signing Palace’s Guehi as the 26-year-old’s replacement.
Phillips played in just two Premier League games in 2022–23, earning an average Sofascore rating of 6.85, and spent the second half of the season on loan at Bournemouth in the Championship.
There is no immediate plan for him to be featured as a regular in the first team, as seen by the manager’s willingness to send him to the second tier of English football and his lack of playing time during the previous season.
Since Phillips has not matured to the point where Klopp feels happy with him playing every week at Anfield, now may be the ideal time to cash in on him. He is 26 years old.
Guehi’s acquisition would enable the manager to approve a transfer because the Palace defender is a seasoned Premier League performer who might challenge the present first-choice alternatives.
The former Chelsea player won 63% of his individual duels and had a Sofascore rating of 6.94 on average over 37 league appearances last season, demonstrating how the English juggernaut can dominate opposing attackers by dominating his physical battles.
The only Liverpool center-back to average a higher Sofascore rating than 6.90 was Virgil van Dijk (7.10). This indicates that Guehi, who was previously referred to as a “tank” by former England U21 teammate Joe Bursik, is a player who could be one of Klopp’s finest alternatives in that position.
The Eagles colossus is excellent at getting the ball back for his club, as shown in the chart above from Opta, and was one of the best center-backs in that category last season, which is another reason he may be an intriguing signing for the Reds.
In order to sign the England international, FSG must defeat competition from Spurs, Arsenal, and Newcastle. He might be a terrific addition who would also enable Klopp to release Phillips this summer.
