Liverpool have long been linked with Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi, who went off with a leg injury during the Community Shield. Post-match, however, Palace manager Oliver Glasner confirmed the defender was subbed off with cramp rather than with a serious injury concern, thus allowing the transfer links to continue unabated.
Though rumor has it that Liverpool used the teams’ Community Shield clash as a means to further their stated interest in the player, the vague phrasing of “continue in talks” was used in The Daily Mail write-up on the silent saga. It’s reported that fee negotiations would be around the range of £45 million, though Palace will want to hold onto their club captain. To complicate things, Arsenal are reportedly in talks to sign Palace’s Eberechi Eze, with the player seeming to smile when asked if he was “coming to Arsenal” during the Community Shield celebrations.
Though Eze is obviously not in the same position group or price bracket as Guéhi, Palace will want to minimize their squad disruption so close to a new season. Though the Eagles finished 12th in the league last season, winning the FA Cup — thus achieving their first ever major silverware — and then the Community Shield puts them in a strong position. Though they will not play in the Europa League this season as they’d hoped, they still have the Conference League in which to seek further silverware.
Palace Chairman Steve Parish has stated that the club could see it as a “problem” to lose Guéhi on a free transfer when he’s out of contract in the summer — an issue Palace dealt with when Jaochim Anderson went to Fulham on a free transfer last summer. According to Parish, the club “could not afford to lose both of them” at that stage.
Should Guéhi be off the table due to disagreements on fees or willingness to lose the defender in the summer, Liverpool might look to increase defensive depth via a move for the young Giovanni Leoni of Parma. The 18-year-old was linked to Liverpool by Sky Sports’ German analyst Florian Plettenberg. Plettenberg cites rumors that emerged in recent days, though Leoni’s experience and age profile is quite different from that of 25-year-old, veteran Premier League defender Marc Guéhi.
Of course, as Liverpool currently list only Joe Gomez as natural cover at center back — with Wataru Endō and Andy Robertson able to play the role if necessary — it is possible the club could bring in more than one defender this window. If that is the case, a player with experience and a youthful player with promise are the most likely.