According to The Telegraph, Liverpool remain favourites ahead of Tottenham Hotspur to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi during the summer transfer window.
The England international has entered the last year of his contract at Palace. This has increased speculation that he could be sold by the London outfit. Spurs failed with a late approach to land Guehi last winter and they retain an interest in the centre-back.
The Reds have since joined the race for the former Chelsea graduate, and The Telegraph report that the Premier League holders remain the favourites to sign the 25-year-old if he decides to leave Palace this summer.
Quality defender
Arne Slot’s side are expected to enter the transfer market for a central defender, having parted ways with Jarell Quansah, who made the move to Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer. The club still have Joe Gomez to provide backup to Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, but the Englishman has been injury prone for most of his career.
Konate also had his injury troubles last campaign and Slot may want to rotate his options in the heart of the defence. Guehi would be an outstanding signing for the Merseyside giants. He won an impressive 60% of his duels in the English top flight last season with an average of 4 recoveries, 4 clearances and 2 tackles.
Guehi has largely played as a left-sided centre-back in his career but should have no problem in adapting, given his good mobility and ball control. Like Guehi, Konate has entered the last year of his contract with the English champions. Guehi has an opportunity to secure a starting berth at some point next season if Konate declines to renew.
Both Liverpool and Spurs have Champions League football to play for next season, but the former are obviously a major attraction, given their track record of winning regular trophies. Palace are looking for a package between £40-45 million for Guehi, but Liverpool could seek a discount later in the transfer window.