Liverpool surge clear for signing of England ace despite £45m Man Utd bid claim

Manchester United and Tottenham have both aborted their attempts to sign an England defender in January, with the path now cleared for Liverpool to strike a difficult deal, per a report.

Man Utd, Spurs and Liverpool are all exploring the transfer market for an addition at centre-back in January. United are open to severing ties with Raphael Varane, though only if a replacement were lined up.

Tottenham need cover for Cristian Romero and the currently injured Micky van de Ven. Eric Dier is unfancied by Ange Postecoglou and chairman Daniel Levy is open to cashing in next month before Dier’s contract expires at season’s end.

Liverpool, meanwhile, suffered a crushing blow when news broke Joel Matip had ruptured his ACL. Season-ending surgery is required.

One player all three clubs had converged on is Crystal Palace and England ace, Marc Guehi.

The 23-year-old has excelled since leaving Chelsea for Palace in an £18m move back in 2021.

Guehi has formed a superb partnership with Joachim Andersen and his exploits at club level have made him a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squads.

TEAMtalk confirmed on December 8 that Liverpool had joined Man Utd and Spurs in adding Guehi to their defensive wishlist.

The Reds are understood to be keen to hold talks with Palace, while the Sun claimed Matip’s injury could bring Liverpool’s plans forward from the summer to January.

At 23, Guehi would not merely be signed to cover Matip’s absence in the short-term. Matip is out of contract at the end of the 2023/24 season and if owners FSG are ruthless, they won’t offer a new deal to a player coming off knee surgery. As such, Guehi would also represent a long-term investment.

Now, a fresh report from Football Insider has shed light on what the future holds for Guehi.

Man Utd, Spurs pull out despite £45m bid claim

They claim that despite being willing to bid as much as £45m, Man Utd have pulled out of the race for Guehi’s signature.

Tottenham too have taken a backseat, thus thrusting Liverpool into the position of favourites.

However, securing an agreement with Palace is far from straightforward, not least because Guehi is valued around the £60m mark.

Furthermore, other outlets have suggested Guehi would prefer to wait until the summer before making a career-defining switch.

The logic there would be to ensure he does not harm his chances of featuring heavily for England at Euro 2024. Guehi is a guaranteed starter at Palace, though could assume a reduced role at Anfield behind Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

Nonetheless, with Man Utd and Spurs seemingly out of the race, the way is clear for Liverpool to make an attempt.

What’s more, Liverpool would appear to have cash to splash if the back end of their summer window is anything to go by.

The Reds saw a £110m bid accepted by Brighton for Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian wound up joining Chelsea, much to Klopp’s relief if his cheeky comments on Monday night are anything to go by.

Liverpool ultimately went on to sign Wataru Endo (£16m) and Ryan Gravenberch (£34m) for a combined £50m. In theory, the Reds had at least another £60m that went unspent.

If and when Guehi does leave Palace, Chelsea will be due a percent of the profits via a sell-on clause. Sources have differed as to whether the clause is set at 10 percent of 15 percent.

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