Marc Guehi had looked set to be the final jewel in the crown of Liverpool’s big summer, but the deal fell through in the final hours of the window.
The Reds submitted a bid to Crystal Palace worth £35 million for their skipper, but the Eagles decided not to go ahead with the deal when they couldn’t secure a replacement centre-back in time.
Arne Slot spoke earlier in the week about the failed transfer, saying: “For us it was of course a disappointment, for the player I assume, as well, because he was expecting to come to us.”
While Liverpool have an unblemished record this season, having won every game thus far, they have shown some defensive frailties. Slot’s side have conceded in four out of six games, and their Premier League opening day clash with Bournemouth is the only game they won by more than one goal.
Liverpool’s inability to bring in another centre-back currently looks like the only chink in their armour, and if they had managed to get Guehi across the line, then they would be looking completely unstoppable right now.
However, their centre-back hunt may be going from bad to worse as Guehi appears to have changed his mind as to which club he would like to join next.
Real Madrid to rival Liverpool for Guehi
Guehi only has one year left on his Crystal Palace contract, meaning that after January, any club can enter pre-contract negotiations with the England centre-back.
Many clubs would find the idea of signing Guehi on a free a tempting prospect, but Xabi Alonso and Real Madrid are one of the only teams, alongside Liverpool, who are showing concrete interest. Guehi’s party have been informed that the Spanish giants plan to enter negotiations with him when possible.
The Mirror have now indicated that Guehi is more than tempted by this prospect and that his “number one choice is to move to the Bernabeu and snub Liverpool”. The report went on to say that the 25-year-old is “excited” by the idea of playing in Spain for a club like Real Madrid.
Liverpool already need to bring in another centre-back, but by next summer, they may need to bring in two, as Ibrahim Konate is at the same stage of his contract as Guehi, and Madrid are circling him as well, meaning the star could join Guehi in 2026.
Real Madrid also planning Trent Alexander-Arnold repeat
Despite bringing in Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen in the summer for £50 million, Real Madrid seem to be looking at major upgrades to their back-line with Konate and Guehi. Liverpool have been in contract negotiations with Konate, but have yet to come to any agreement, leaving the door open for Real Madrid to recruit him.
Guehi may be frustrated with Liverpool for leaving the bid for him so late in the window as to not leave Palace time to find a replacement, ultimately causing the transfer to fall through. This may make moving to Real Madrid on a free a more tempting prospect as Liverpool have already let him down.
Approaching players near the end of their contracts is a transfer strategy that Real Madrid have implemented numerous times in recent years. Kylian Mbappe joined on a free last summer from PSG, and Liverpool lost Trent Alexander-Arnold the same way as he joined the Spanish side in the summer.
The good news for Liverpool is that they are finding out that they may not get Guehi and that Konate may leave early. This gives them the rest of the season to scout for defensive alternatives and act quicker in the next summer transfer window, so as not to end up in the same situation that they did on deadline day.
