Crystal Palace lower Marc Guehi price amid Liverpool interest
The FA Cup winners now value Guehi closer to £40million
Crystal Palace appear to be lowering their asking price for centre-back Marc Guehi, which could work in Liverpool’s favour as they seek a swift deal at a reduced fee.
Since Liverpool’s interest in Guehi became public last month, there have been conflicting reports regarding the fee Palace would accept.
Some reliable sources placed the valuation as high as £65million – a slight decrease from the £70million bids Newcastle and Tottenham made in January.
However, such a figure seems unrealistic for a player entering the final year of his contract.
Liverpool are genuinely interested in the Palace captain but remain focused on securing a deal at the right price and have no intention of getting drawn into a prolonged transfer saga.
According to BBC Sport’s Sami Mokbel, the FA Cup winners now value Guehi closer to £40million.
However, Mokbel adds that Liverpool would aim to pay even less, though ongoing reports suggest Palace may be open to negotiation.
Previously, Guehi was linked with prices of £65million, £50million, and then £45million – indicating a gradual drop, almost like a closing-down sale for the England international.
Lewis Steele of The Daily Mail has claimed Liverpool will likely start with an offer around £30million, with hopes to meet Palace halfway at approximately £35million.
Liverpool’s potential outlay for Guehi could be partly funded by the recent sale of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen earlier this summer.
The need for another senior centre-back became clear during Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Asia when Joe Gomez left to undergo treatment for an Achilles injury.
This left Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as the only specialist centre-back options – both world-class players – while Kostas Tsimikas, Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch, Wataru Endo, and Luca Stephenson have had to fill in.
Though Gomez’s injury is reportedly minor, it is a familiar issue for Liverpool’s No. 2, who also missed much of last season with hamstring problems.
With Quansah gone, Liverpool will need to replace him, and it could be argued they require additional reinforcements beyond Guehi.
Younger prospects such as Parma’s Giovanni Leoni and Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis have attracted interest.
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