Newcastle barge Liverpool aside in Marc Guehi race with Howe ‘hopeful’ of transfer sting

Liverpool hopes of signing Marc Guehi are coming under a serious threat from Newcastle, with manager Eddie Howe ‘refusing to give up’ on a deal, though any hopes of signing the Crystal Palace star on the cheap appear to have vanished.

The England defender will be out of contract at Selhurst Park in less than a year from now, and with the 24-year-old making it clear he will not be signing an extension, Crystal Palace will not stand in their captain’s way of a summer exit. Capped 23 times by his country and now considered a first choice for the Three Lions, it is easy to see why a player of Guehi‘s standing is in such high demand.

That has led to strong suggestions that a move to Anfield is on the cards, and with Liverpool looking to replace Jarell Quansah following his initial £30m move to Bayer Leverkusen, our reporter Rudy Galetti revealed last month that the Reds were close to reaching an agreement on personal terms with Guehi.

Despite that, Liverpool’s apparent attempts to lowball Palace with an opening offer are likely to be met with a warm response with the Eagles understandably eager to hold out for their current £45m to £50m (up to €58m, $68m) valuation.

With transfer talks at Anfield temporarily placed on hold as the club struggles to come to terms with their tragic loss of Diogo Jota last week, who was killed in a car crash, the transfer door appears to have swung open for Newcastle to make their move – and a new report claims they retain a strong belief a deal for Guehi is within their sights.

Having been given the ‘Here we go’ for the capture of Anthony Elanga in a £55m deal from Nottingham Forest, GiveMeSport claim that Newcastle ‘remain hopeful of winning the race to sign’ Guehi as the board ‘will prioritise the addition of a centre-back’ after landing the Sweden winger.

They claim that Newcastle are ‘refusing to give up on striking a deal for Guehi’ with Howe ‘sniffing an opportunity to pounce for a cut-price fee due to an awareness that the Eagles will not want to run the risk of him leaving as a free agent at the end of the upcoming season’.

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Newcastle warned Marc Guehi deal will not come cheap

Despite claims Newcastle are looking to ‘sniff out a cut-price deal’, we understand that Crystal Palace are refusing to bow to any sort of fee lower than their current valuation.

That’s because they believe, with at least two sides keen on his signing, coupled with the fact that there are still 54 days left in the transfer window, there remains time to achieve their asking price.

That was also the reason why that talk of a lowball Liverpool offer – aimed at discovering Palace’s stance on the sale – was always likely to be met with a hefty refusal from the London club.

Former Newcastle winger Chris Waddle also believes that the Magpies – who have also been linked with Eberechi Eze –  will need to spend “a lot of cash” this summer if they are to prise either player from the Eagles.

Waddle said in June: “That might have been straightforward at one point, but now Crystal Palace have won the FA Cup and they’re in the Europa League. They’ll have a decent amount of money coming in but yes, in Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze, they’ve got two players who will be getting a lot of attention this summer.

“Palace have to work out if they want to sell and try to spend what they got in a way that improves them, or they’ll try to hold onto at least one of them and kick on next season. It’s up to them to work out which way they want to go.

“People will question Palace’s ambition after they won the FA Cup and got into Europe. They need to add to their squad, so if they start selling it makes the job of rebuilding doubly hard, and if it goes wrong, they risk a relegation dogfight.

“Of course, Newcastle need a centre-half and they have money to spend, but to get either Guehi or Eze out of Selhurst Park is going to cost any team a lot of cash.”

Eze makes choice; Konate ‘done’ at Liverpool; Longstaff’s Newcastle exit

On the subject of Eze, the in-demand Palace playmaker is understood to have made clear to his agents where he would like to be playing his football next season amid claims Liverpool are looking to hijack Arsenal’s move and with two big obstacles now standing in the Gunners’ path.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s wishes to sign Guehi could also be attributed to the ongoing situation surrounding Ibrahima Konate.

Now a new report claims the Frenchman has made it clear he would like to join Real Madrid if he were to leave Anfield this summer, after another new contract rejection sparked growing talk that his Anfield career is now over.

Luis Diaz also appears to have opened up the pathway to leaving Anfield this summer, with the Colombian attacker now offering a worrying update on his future amid strong new claims of a move to Barcelona.

Over at Newcastle, the Magpies are considering an improved third offer from Leeds United for Sean Longstaff and with the midfielder having already agreed personal terms to join the Premier League new boys.

Marc Guehi quiz: How much do you know about the Crystal Palace star?