Liverpool rule out signing Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi in January | OneFootball

Liverpool will not return for Marc Guehi (25) in January and will instead wait until the summer to complete the signing of the Crystal Palace centre-back.

The Premier League champions came close to securing the Palace defender on deadline day, with a £35m deal agreed, the medical completed, and the player eager to join Arne Slot’s side. Yet Palace chairman Steve Parish pulled the plug at the last moment, leaving Guehi frustrated and Liverpool empty-handed.

As reported by Paul Joyce writing for The Times, Liverpool have since made their position clear: they will wait until next summer. Guehi, in the final year of his Palace contract and unwilling to sign an extension, could then move to Anfield as a free agent.

Parish had opened discussions with Liverpool shortly after the Community Shield on August 10th, quoting £35m, and it was only after weeks of silence that Liverpool returned late in August with an improved bid, the same fee plus a 10 per cent sell-on clause, which Palace accepted. Hours later, however, Palace manager Oliver Glasner voiced alarm when a move for Brighton defender Igor Julio collapsed, leaving Palace without a replacement, prompting Parish’s U-turn.

Leoni seen as one for the future at Liverpool

While Liverpool signed Parma defender Giovanni Leoni (18) for £26m, the young defender is seen as one for the future and unlikely to make an immediate impact, while there are still uncertainties around the future of Ibrahima Konaté, whose contract runs out next summer, with Real Madrid said to be closely monitoring.

That situation explains why Guehi remains firmly on Liverpool’s radar, even if patience is the chosen strategy. Arne Slot and Liverpool are determined to avoid mid-season panic buys and to keep the club’s financial discipline intact.

The risk, of course, is that other suitors enter the race before next summer. Palace would lose a valuable asset for nothing, and rival clubs could sense an opportunity, with Real Madrid supposedly tracking the defender. Yet Guehi’s preference is believed to be Liverpool, and Anfield sources remain confident.

GFN | Finn Entwistle