Liverpool threaten Marc Guehi U-turn as ‘ideal profile’ of new defender signing revealed

Liverpool could sensationally back away from their pursuit of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi if one key element doesn’t change, a reporter has revealed, with the ‘ideal profile’ of any alternative targets coming to light.

The centre-back position is the next to be undergoing change in the Liverpool squad in a transformative summer transfer window. The Reds have already made big changes at right-back, where Jeremie Frimpong has replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold, and at left-back, where Milos Kerkez has arrived to succeed Andy Robertson – not to mention the club-record addition of attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

Liverpool started 2025 without any certainty that Virgil van Dijk would stay beyond the end of his contract, but even after the captain signed a new two-year deal, there’s still a need for Liverpool to strengthen at centre-back.

That’s because they’ve reached an agreement to sell Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, who will put the 22-year-old through a medical on Monday to finalise his move to Germany.

Liverpool would be left with just Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez as centre-back options for their title defence, so once Quansah has left, they will be in the market for a replacement.

On that front, Guehi has become a top target. The England international is entering the final year of his contract with Crystal Palace and has plenty of suitors.

Liverpool are chief among them, with their admiration of Guehi being confirmed by multiple top sources. However, talk of them planning to bid £45m for him has now been shut down.

According to Ben Jacobs, Liverpool ‘have no plans’ to meet the £45m-£50m valuation of Guehi. In fact, the reporter claims the club are ‘still assessing’ if they really do have a ‘genuine’ opportunity to sign the 24-year-old.

Jacobs concludes that Liverpool ‘will only advance their interest […] if Crystal Palace’s asking price drops.’

If not, Liverpool could move on to other targets, with Jacobs clarifying that their ‘ideal profile’ would be someone in the 18-22 age bracket anyway – at least two years younger than Guehi.

It may turn out that a deal for Guehi becomes too good to overlook, but for now, Liverpool will be assessing their options.

According to Jacobs, another defender they admire who does fit within their preferred age bracket is Ajax’s Jorrel Hato.

Marc Guehi transfer stance revealed

Guehi himself must also make a decision on what he wants his future to look like. A product of the Chelsea academy, he has Europa League involvement on offer with Palace next season, but could be worthy of playing for a Champions League side.

Guehi seems to have established himself as an England starter, but will be wanting to preserve that status ahead of next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Jacobs explains that game time at club level before the World Cup will have a bearing on Guehi’s decision and that he isn’t opposed to running down his deal with Palace until it expires next summer.

But TEAMtalk recently revealed that Guehi was close to agreeing terms with Liverpool, which would be the forebearer to club-to-club contact.

A move to Anfield does appeal to Guehi, but there are other suitors in the race for his signature.

If he was to wait until he becomes a free agent in 2026, his future would be in his own hands.

There are still two months of the transfer window for Liverpool to try and secure his commitment before them, if they deem him worthy.

It remains to be seen what their upper price limit for Guehi is, or if this is merely a negotiating tactic.

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