Liverpool’s approach to ‘Plan B’ in final week of window if Marc Guehi transfer collapses

As Liverpool continue to ponder a late deal for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, Arne Slot’s attitude towards other options in the transfer window has emerged

Liverpool will not actively pursue any other central defenders this summer if they are unable to sign Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi. The England international has been on their transfer radar for the majority of the transfer window.

Arne Slot’s side have bolstered their forward options, having signed Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz and are still hunting Alexander Isak, while also adding full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez. But ex-Chelsea defender Guehi remains of interest to the Reds, as he has less than a year left on his deal at Palace, meaning he is available below his true market value.

He will also be available on a free transfer next summer as things stand, although Liverpool may not wish to wait that long. Guehi’s contract situation, however, has not stopped the south Londoners from demanding around £40million for the 25-year-old.

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If the Merseysiders are not able to sign him, they will seemingly refrain from adding any more central defenders to their squad.

According to The Athletic, Liverpool do not have a ‘Plan B’ option in place if they fail to bring Guehi to Anfield. This is not unusual for the Merseysiders, who have a tendency to not sign anybody else if they do not get their main man.

It was the case when they signed Virgil van Dijk in January 2018, after failing to prise him away from Southampton the previous summer. It appears to be a similar situation with Guehi.

The Liverpool board has identified this summer as being the perfect market opportunity to sign the England defender, with his contract situation giving Liverpool leverage to barter down Palace, who rejected a bid “north of £70m” from Newcastle last summer, according to Chronicle Live.

However, with Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni – a recent £26m acquisition from Parma – to choose from, Liverpool will not look for another central defender if they cannot agree a deal for Guehi.

This is the Reds’ position, despite Gomez’s track record of injuries and the uncertain future of Konate, whose contract at Anfield expires next summer. The Frenchman has been of interest to Real Madrid, who are reportedly plotting an offer for him next season when he is a free agent.

Until then, Konate is expected to continue as Van Dijk’s central defensive partner, unless the likes of Leoni can budge him from his position. Standing at 6ft 5in, the 18-year-old, left-footed central defender is understood to be widely considered as the long-term successor to Van Dijk.

Slot has certainly been impressed by him since his arrival at Anfield. The Dutch boss said: “He is a good-looking guy, as [with] most Italians. He has trained with us three times now, I think.

“If you look at his transfer fee, you can expect that he is already quite grown up for his age, and that’s exactly what I saw. He comes in as an 18-year-old just playing with his new team-mates as if he is here for longer.

“Impressive; if you look at how tall he is, fast, comfortable on the ball. Yeah, there’s a reason why we paid the transfer fee we did, because we see him as a bright prospect.”

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