Liverpool Transfer News: Crystal Palace set EXTRAORDINARY price for Marc Guehi | OneFootball

Liverpool have been really transparent in their attempts to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi.

Immediately after the Community Shield in August, discussions took place about a possible transfer for the Eagles' captain and a £30m transfer fee was informally tabled. The following weeks were spent by owner Steve Parish and Oliver Glasner considering if they could feasibly allow him go.

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After all, the player's contract expires in 2026, so the money would have been beneficial. It took until a few days left of the summer for a bid to be tabled - £35m plus a 10% sell-on clause. Hardly his fair market value, but a reasonable figure given the circumstances surrounding the player's contract.

Long story short, Palace rejected the approach, even after the player was given permission to have a medical with Liverpool, and despite a deal sheet having been signed to prolong the negotiations.

In response, the Reds have decided to not go in for Guehi in January and they are instead backing themselves to complete the move next summer for free. There is a general acceptance that Liverpool are the club that the Englishman most wants to join, although the world's elite will also be interested.

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But the latest reports are suggesting that an asking price has been set for a winter move, testing the resolve of both the player who is looking for certainty, and the Reds who have rejected another move.

Palace might let him go in January

According to Spanish news outlet Fichajes, around €20m (£17m) is the amount that Crystal Palace would be willing to let him go for, six months prior to the expiration of his deal, allowing a free move.

The report adds that Barcelona and Real Madrid are said to have shown strong interest, alongside Liverpool, and considering his quality, age and profile, that's a really low cost move for him.

But the context makes it an extraordinary ask, given it's half of what Liverpool saw get rejected two weeks ago, and there's no reassurance that the player would actually be allowed to leave this time.

The Athletic, among other organisations, reported earlier this week that Oliver Glasner did not threaten to resign if Guehi was sold, which is the narrative we have been fed over the past weeks.

No ultimatum ever existed. While owner Steve Parish has previously been painted to have been in some untenable position where he and the player are at loggerheads with the manager, it didn't play out even remotely like that. There was, however, a lack of conviction in Palace's decision-making.

Journalists reported on deadline day that a fee had been agreed, alongside personal terms. To have received no new information hours later and still arrive at a different decision in the dying hours of the summer, hoping that people wouldn't get caught up in the midst of the chaos, was outrageous.

Regardless of why Liverpool have decided not to go back in for Guehi in January - likely because of the move not making sense financially - you feel the Reds simply don't want to negotiate with Parish anymore, which is understandable. Relations between the two clubs are likely to have worsened.

Furthermore, paying £17m to get him six months earlier is only likely to be a move Liverpool would consider if there was a defensive injury crisis unfolding. It's an extraordinary price to set for him.

If such an offer is tabled in January, the Reds will give it due consideration, but there are principles that need to be upheld and giving in to Palace's demands feels like an unlikely course of action.