Reliable reporter indicates whether Guehi move to Man City will impact Liverpool transfer plans
The sight of Marc Guehi in Manchester City colours as he completed his transfer to the Etihad Stadium on Monday will no doubt have been a sore one for Liverpool fans.
Less than five months on from having a deadline-day move to Anfield scuppered at the 11th hour, the England international has instead joined one of our biggest rivals for a mere £20m from Crystal Palace (BBC Sport).
As per the Liverpool Echo, Merseyside chiefs opted against a January pursuit of the 25-year-old despite last summer’s dramatic plot twist because they no longer saw a deal for the player as a market opportunity, with his contract at Selhurst Park having entered its final six months.
It leaves Liverpool needing to look elsewhere for centre-back reinforcements, but one reliable reporter has indicated that Guehi’s move to Man City won’t prompt any knee-jerk reactions at Anfield.
Liverpool transfer plans unlikely to change
In the latest Transfer DealSheet for The Athletic, which was published on Tuesday morning, Gregg Evans wrote: ‘The changes in the Guehi situation won’t affect Liverpool’s planning as the approach to this window remains the same. Generally, their owners at Fenway Sports Group [FSG] only sanction big deals in January if top-quality players who fit the long-term plan are available.
‘Although their central defensive options will become limited if Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konate are out, they still have cover for [Conor] Bradley at right-back with Jeremie Frimpong, Joe Gomez and Calvin Ramsay.
‘The rest of the winter window is expected to be quiet, unless a suitable market opportunity comes up.’
Time is running out for Liverpool to act in winter market
To many Liverpool fans, plenty of that rhetoric will feel all too familiar – ‘approach…remains the same’, ‘still have cover’, ‘expected to be quiet’, ‘suitable market opportunity’.
FSG’s approach to the transfer market has been largely successful over the past decade in particular, and they did push the boat out with a near-£450m shopping spree last summer, but supporters’ clamour for centre-back additions this month is most understandable.
Arne Slot has been trying to get by with just three senior players in that position for most of the season, and the optics of coming so close to signing Guehi a few months ago but seeing him join Man City this week are obviously far from glowing.
We’re now into the final two weeks of the January transfer window, and if that fortnight passes without any first-team additions, Liverpool could be just one defensive injury away from having no backup in a crucial part of their squad.
The Reds have had previous for pulling a rabbit out of the hat in the closing stages of mid-season market (e.g. Luis Diaz, Luis Suarez), so we wouldn’t completely rule out the chances of a new signing being unveiled at Anfield between now and 2 February, even if nothing seems imminent in that regard as of now.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Burnley press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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