Liverpool told to forget about signing Marc Guehi despite him being ‘interested’ | Football | Sport

Liverpool have already “blown their chances” of signing Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, according to former Reds midfielder Don Hutchison. The reigning Premier League champions were on the verge of a £35million deal for the England international on transfer deadline day, but Palace halted the move at the last minute after failing to sign Igor Julio, who instead joined West Ham United from Brighton.

Guehi’s contract expires next summer and he remains a target for Liverpool. However, Hutchison, who made 60 appearances for the Reds between 1991 and 1994, insists manager Arne Slot can’t afford to wait until the end of the season to secure the England international.

“They’ve blown their chances of landing him,” Hutchison told SportsCasting.com. “One million per cent. I mean, I’d love to be a fly on the wall at Liverpool when they didn’t get the Guehi deal done.

“Let’s just say Crystal Palace wanted £45m. Liverpool should have given them £50m, because they’re going to have Marc Guehi for six years. They should have just paid the money.

“When I compare Liverpool to Arsenal, I see two proper men and two proper guys that won’t be bullied in (Riccardo) Calafiori and (Jurrien) Timber, alongside (William) Saliba and Gabriel.

“So you’ve got four centre-backs across there. If Marc Guehi was at Liverpool now he’d be playing at left-back and you’d be (Ibrahima) Konate, (Virgil) Van Dijk, (Conor) Bradley and Guehi, and you’d be thinking crikey, that’s pretty versatile.

“Liverpool should have just paid Palace whatever they wanted. I think it was a poor move. They were so focused on signing (Alexander) Isak.

“I understand that, because you can’t turn it down, but Guehi had to be the other priority. This January has to be the marker with Guehi if they want to finish in the top four.

“They need to try and pull out all the stops to land him in January because by the summer time, I think he’ll have plenty of options to choose from and they could be more attractive to him and his family.”

Regarding Ibrahima Konate, whose contract expires next summer, Hutchison added: “I’d keep Konate from now to the end of season because he’s a good body to have around just in case Virgil got injured, or if Guehi signed and took a knock.

“If Guehi went to left-back you would still need Konate. I’d keep him around until the summer, and if he wants to move on a free transfer, then Liverpool will have one or two irons in the fire to try and replace him.”

Palace chairman Steve Parish recently discussed Guehi’s failed transfer to the Reds and what lies ahead for the defender.

He revealed: “They’d made an offer. It was Liverpool. It was a massive club, he was obviously interested in going. But he was fine about it, staying, if that was the decision we make.

“Obviously it means all of the ball is in his court tremendously as a player and he’s got the choice of wherever he wants to go. It was a very difficult one but I think definitely the right one.”