Forget about Guehi: Liverpool reportedly ready to ‘table a bid’ for ‘indispensable’ centre-back | OneFootball

Having missed out on Marc Guehi, Liverpool are seemingly ready to make an approach for another English centre-back, according to fresh reports.

The 25-year-old had almost completed his medical ahead of a proposed move to Anfield at the end of last summer, only for his then-employers Crystal Palace to pull the plug on a £35m deal before eventually selling him to Manchester City for just £20m four months later (BBC Sport).

Insult was added to injury last weekend as the England international was in Pep Guardiola’s side which won 2-1 away to the Reds (and could easily have been sent off), but sporting director Richard Hughes already seems to have long since moved on from the former Eagles captain.

Liverpool ready to make offer for Charlie Cresswell

According to Sports Boom, Liverpool are prepared to ‘table a bid in excess of €30m’ [£26.1m] for Toulouse centre-back Charlie Cresswell, who’s also understood to have interest from Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and West Ham.

The Ligue 1 side are reportedly relucant to sell the 23-year-old but could be persuaded otherwise by an offer in the region of the aforementioned amount, although the player’s preference is expected to be taken into consideration by Les Violets.

This follows on from Sport.fr reporting last month that the Reds had already been ‘closely monitoring’ the former Leeds defender.

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Cresswell could fill a significant void in Liverpool’s squad

Cresswell never managed to establish himself at Elland Road but has seen his career thrive with Toulouse, for whom he’s netted seven goals in 56 appearances and where he’s regarded as an ‘indispensable’ figure who’s stood out with his ‘reading of the game’ and ‘aerial prowess’ (Sport.fr).

His underlying performance figures in comparison to positional peers in Ligue 1 this season (see table below, with data from Fotmob) illustrate that he can excel in both penalty boxes, much like the peerless Virgil van Dijk.

The 23-year-old could also satisfy a glaring need at Anfield. At present, Liverpool have filled all 17 of their non-homegrown berths in their Premier League squad and have a vacancy for one more homegrown player outside of those born in 2004 or later who are exempt from classification.

Those numbers could obviously change in the summer depending on potential exits – for example, if Ibrahima Konate doesn’t renew his contract, his exit would free up one non-homegrown place in the senior squad.

Defensive depth has been a major issue for the Reds throughout the season given the scale of injury problems that they’ve had at the back, and while the incoming Jeremy Jacquet will help with addressing that, there may still be scope for another addition in the coming months.

We’d take the reports about Cresswell with a pinch of salt for now until they’re corroborated by a top-tier source close to Merseyside, but the Toulouse defender does represent an intriguing option to consider.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Sunderland press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: