Marc Guehi’s three-word response after putting Liverpool transfer saga behind him

Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, who saw his dream transfer to Liverpool collapse on deadline day, netted his first goal for England in the thrashing of Serbia

Marc Guehi insisted “it’s been great” to be with England as he issued the perfect response to his Liverpool transfer collapsing. The Crystal Palace skipper was widely expected to join the Premier League champions on deadline day, only for the Eagles to pull the plug at the 11th hour.

But he’s had no time to dwell on that disappointment after being called up to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the latest batch of World Cup qualifiers. And after shrugging off an injury scare, Guehi was back in the lineup as the Three Lions delivered the best performance of the Tuchel era.

Guehi scored the fourth of five goals in Belgrade as England battered Serbia 5-0 to put one foot in next summer’s World Cup. The game against Serbia was expected to be the most difficult of the qualifying stage, but they turned on the style in a five-star display.

The 25-year-old scored his first international goal in the second half and made clear there was no lingering frustration from the window after a positive week for the national side.

Asked by ITV how the last eight days have been, Guehi said: “It’s been great! It’s always easy coming here, such a good group of players, good group of staff. We are all working towards one goal.”

“I’m just over the moon [to score his first goal] it’s a fantastic feeling. You work really hard growing up, so to score a goal for your country is the best feeling.”

England manager Tuchel was specifically asked about Guehi after another dominant performance at the heart of the defence alongside Ezri Konsa. “It’s the example of how the boys were at this camp,” he said.

“They put their personal interests to one side and he was the best team-mate possible and had a fantastic performance. He was very strong for Crystal Palace and showed that today on the pitch.

It was hard not to smile from an England perspective, as they sent a message to those who have been criticising some lacklustre performances in recent months.

The Three Lions came into the clash with Serbia with a 100 per cent record in qualifying, albeit without the displays to match. But that changed in Serbia, with Harry Kane and Noni Madueke scoring before half time, before goals from Konsa, Guehi and a Marcus Rashford penalty secured them a statement victory.

“We scored five and made it look comfortable. We can be proud of ourselves. It has been a great camp and we are in a great position,” England skipper Kane told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“They found it difficult to play. Whenever they did break, we recovered quickly. Serbia are a good team, and we made them look average tonight.”

Guehi will now return to Palace to face Sunderland this weekend, before a game with Liverpool before the end of the month.

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