Marc Guehi looks set to stay at Crystal Palace… for now (Photo: Getty)
Liverpool reportedly have a plan to beat Newcastle United to the signing of highly-rated Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi.
Newcastle are desperate to sign Guehi who was arguably England’s best player at Euro 2024 over the summer.
But so far the Magpies have had three bids rejected with Palace holding firm on their £70million valuation of the centre-back.
With deadline day fast approaching, Newcastle remain in talks over a transfer but it seems increasingly unlikely that the move will happen, especially after some recent developments at Selhurst Park.
Palace have even less incentive to sell their star defender following the sale of Joachim Andersen to Fulham and a knee injury to summer signing Chadi Riad.
And though the Eagles have now agreed a deal to buy Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix for €18million (£15.2m), the Frenchman is viewed as a replacement for Andersen not Guehi.
Guehi himself seems more than content to stay put, having captained the team and started all three of their opening matches of the season.
Maxence Lacroix is yet to agree personal terms with Palace (Photo: Getty)
Now, with Newcastle’s plan failing, Liverpool are looking to take advantage with The Independent reporting that Arne Slot and co. will make a move for the 24-year-old if he does remain a Palace player after this transfer window.
The Reds are one of several sides to have a long-standing interest in the Three Lions star, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
And they hope that by the time they make their move, Palace will have dropped Guehi’s price tag given that the player currently has just two years left on his contract.
If he doesn’t sign an extension, the Eagles will surely look to cash-in what they can, by which time Liverpool will most certainly be in the market for a new centre-back.
Slot lost Joel Matip over the summer, leaving Jarell Quansah, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and captain Virgil van Dijk as his options, but the latter is in the last year of his contract and has been tipped to leave Anfield.
For now, Palace, with or without Guehi, are gearing up for a trip to Chelsea on Sunday, while later that afternoon Liverpool take on arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.
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