Guehi to Liverpool piece slots into place as Crystal Palace line up title-winning replacement – Sources | OneFootball

Crystal Palace are preparing for life after Marc Guehi, with a title-winning centre-back who only just changed clubs for €20m in their sights.

Atalanta star Odilon Kossounou is being watched closely by Crystal Palace as they consider him a potential replacement for Guehi.

The 24-year-old won the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in the 2023/24 campaign before joining Atalanta on loan with an option to buy.

Atalanta would ultimately sign the 6ft 3in centre-back for €20m last summer, though it might not be long before Kossounou is on the move once again.

Palace are working hard and doing their due diligence on prospective options to replace Guehi heading into 2026.

Palace are fully aware that Guehi will be leaving next year, with a likely departure coming in the summer.

A host of players are being looked at by Palace and we understand they have spent time looking at Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande and Burnley’s Maxime Esteve.

Now we can confirm that Atalanta’s highly-rated Ivorian stopper Kossounou is another they have watched extensively this season.

Kossounou has impressed hugely for Atalanta since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen, initially on loan, in 2024.

He is a player that has attracted interest from a number of clubs and we are told the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa have watched him previously.

Marc Guehi to Liverpool latest

Liverpool are determined to sign Guehi at the second time of asking following their near miss last summer.

The Athletic recently claimed Real Madrid have pulled out of the race, while TEAMtalk understands Barcelona have launched two formal approaches over the past fortnight.

However, sources tell us Guehi’s strong preference is signing with the Reds who could test the waters with a winter window bid if they begin to feel other suitors stand a realistic chance of poaching the player from under their nose.

Oliver Glasner has again made it crystal clear in public he does not want Guehi to leave mid-season.

As such, the likeliest outcome remains Guehi leaves Palace via free agency at season’s end before rocking up at Anfield.

In other news, Jean-Philippe Mateta could leave the Premier League entirely if he pushes for an ambitious move away from Crystal Palace, despite continued links to Manchester United, sources have exclusively explained.

Over at Anfield, Liverpool remain absolutely committed to handing Ibrahima Konate a new deal at Anfield despite his woeful form of late and amid some very strongly worded criticism from Anfield faithful towards the Frenchman and a Reds teammate.

Finally, former Liverpool favourite, Trent Alexander-Arnold, has been eviscerated by the Spanish media – including those with Real Madrid allegiances.

Even worse news for Alexander-Arnold has emerged after the right-back suffered a thigh injury that will sideline him for roughly two months.