Oliver Glasner blames Liverpool for Marc Guehi’s failed summer move | OneFootball

Liverpool face January reality as Marc Guehi decision clarified

Liverpool’s long running interest in Marc Guehi has hit a familiar obstacle, timing. Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner has moved to shut down any expectation of a January exit for his captain, despite the defender being out of contract at the end of the season and already the subject of a failed summer move to Anfield.

Guehi remains a player Liverpool admire. That much has not changed since a £35m deal collapsed on transfer deadline day, when the England international had already agreed terms and was undergoing a medical. Palace chairman Steve Parish ultimately pulled the plug after failing to line up a replacement, a decision that still shapes the narrative around this saga.

With Liverpool short of centre back options under Arne Slot, the question has been whether pragmatism might give way to opportunity when the window re opens. Glasner’s message suggests otherwise.

Oliver Glasner draws firm line on January exit

Speaking ahead of Palace’s Conference League fixture against Kuopion Palloseura, Glasner was unequivocal.

“I think Marc will stay until the end of the season.”

It was a short sentence but a significant one. Palace have already absorbed the uncertainty that comes with Guehi’s contract situation and, from Glasner’s perspective, stability mid season outweighs any financial upside of a January sale.

Photo: IMAGO

That stance holds even with interest beyond Liverpool. Manchester City have now added Guehi to their own shortlist for a possible summer move, underlining how widely his profile has risen. For Palace, however, the calculation is straightforward. Keeping their captain through a full campaign offers competitive value that outweighs a discounted fee now.

Liverpool’s defensive context under Arne Slot

From Liverpool’s point of view, the timing is awkward. Giovanni Leoni’s season ending ACL injury and Joe Gomez’s hamstring problem have left Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as the only senior centre backs available. Slot has navigated similar issues before, but depth is thin.

Parish has previously hinted that Liverpool’s late approach contributed to the deal collapsing. Speaking earlier, he said,

“You can’t spend money you don’t have. You have to have some guardrails as a club, or you’ll build up big problems down the track.

“Everyone saw where prices went in the summer; it’s a difficult landscape. There wasn’t the right thing available at the right time when the finances were in place. There’s no point in doing something for the sake of it.

“How are you going to get someone to come and tell them they are No 1 in Ebs’ (Eze) position if you still have him.

“The one where we didn’t, with Marc (Guehi), we kept him. You can’t always make happen what you want to.

“We are where we are in the pecking order; you could ask why other clubs make bids for our players two weeks before the end of the window. I don’t know why they did that.”

Those comments underline a familiar tension between ambition and timing, one Liverpool may yet revisit in the summer.

Dressing room expectations and wider Palace picture

Interestingly, even within Palace there was an assumption that Guehi might already be gone. Team mate Adam Wharton recently admitted that the squad expected their captain to move on.

Wharton’s own future has drawn attention, with Liverpool among the clubs linked. His agent James Featherstone, however, struck a measured tone when outlining a long term plan for the midfielder.

“We have got a plan. He is 21, I have to check myself to remember that every now and then. We have got a plan; it doesn’t have to be achieved yesterday, today, [or] this moment.

“He has got his in game, in season targets [and] goals. He has got to do his bit and the rest will look after itself in a very calm, structured way to maximise his ability.”

For now, that same calm applies to Guehi. Liverpool may have to wait.