Report: How senior Liverpool figures reacted to collapse of Marc Guehi deadline day transfer | OneFootball

Liverpool broke the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak on transfer deadline day, but they were ultimately foiled in their pursuit of Marc Guehi.

A £35m deal for the defender had been agreed with Crystal Palace and he underwent his medical in London, but the Selhurst Park outfit belatedly decided to pull the plug on the move after pressure from Oliver Glasner on chairman Steve Parish.

It was subsequently reported by The Guardian‘s Ed Aarons that the Eagles captain was left ‘extremely unhappy’ at being denied a transfer to the Premier League champions at the 11th hour.

Liverpool ‘surprised and disappointed’ at collapse of Guehi transfer

An in-depth report for The Athletic detailed how the Liverpool hierarchy reacted to hearing of Palace’s decision to veto the sale of Guehi.

It’s claimed that senior Anfield figures were left ‘surprised and disappointed’ at how the transfer collapsed but weren’t ‘angry’, as they realised how desperate Glasner was to keep hold of his captain due to the FA Cup holders’ inability to sign ‘sufficient replacements’.

There’s also a feeling on Merseyside that Parish ‘relented to appease his manager’, who remained adamant that the south London club couldn’t sell the 25-year-old so late in the transfer window.

The report adds that ‘it is still highly likely that Guehi will end up at Liverpool’, who feel that they have sufficient centre-back depth in Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni.

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Liverpool’s gamble over Guehi almost paid off

Liverpool had gambled by waiting until the latest opportunity to make their move for Guehi, having stuck to their £35m valuation even when Palace initially wanted £45m, as they thought that fee would be sufficient given that he wanted the move, there were no suitors in for him and the defender is in the final year of his contract (The Athletic).

The Reds’ eventual offer was sufficient, but in entering a game of brinksmanship and counting on the Selhurst Park club to bend to their will, they were ultimately caught out by leaving it until the last.

Had they acted sooner and if the Eagles had more time to find a replacement with whom Glasner would’ve been satisfied, the England international would probably now be an LFC player.

Liverpool’s stance wasn’t wrong, as such – it was more that they took a calculated risk and it almost but didn’t quite pay off. Plus, unless Guehi agrees a new contract at Palace in the meantime, the Merseysiders could go back in for him in January if there’s a need to do so.

At least Arne Slot can count on four centre-backs for the rest of this year when all of them are fit and available. Imagine how worse the transfer near-miss would’ve been if we’d sold Gomez and/or hadn’t signed Leoni…