Marc Guehi to Liverpool gathers pace as two-player transfer plan emerges

Crystal Palace are ready to cash in on captain Marc Guehi, with Liverpool preparing a bid before the summer transfer window closes for business on Monday evening

Crystal Palace are preparing for life without Marc Guehi by scouring the transfer market for replacements for their captain. Guehi has entered the final year of his Palace contract and the club know they have to cash in now or risk losing him for nothing in a year’s time.

Liverpool entered talks to sign the England international on August 12 and remain keen on the 26-year-old centre-back. Guehi is understood to be open to joining the defending Premier League champions, who want to add depth beyond Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

Talks fizzled out earlier this month over valuation, with Palace quoting £45million for their star defender, while Liverpool won’t go above £35m. But they are expected to gather pace once again after Palace’s Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad on Thursday night.

Palace manager Oliver Glasner said the club had to keep Guehi until at least that match, due to their lack of options, but knows chairman Steve Parish is open to selling. The south London club have prepared for Guehi’s exit by lining up potential replacements.

They registered an interest in Manchester City's Manuel Akanji earlier this week and have now made an offer to Monaco to take Mohammed Salisu on loan, according to The Guardian. Neither are guaranteed, with competition from Bayer Leverkusen and Galatasaray for Akanji and from Olympiakos for Salisu.

Palace have also been linked with Rennes’ Jeremy Jacquet and Toulouse’s Jaydee Canvot, but Akanji would represent the most experienced option. The 30-year-old Switzerland international has two years left on his City contract and Palace were reportedly ready to offer £15m for his services.

Eberechi Eze has joined Arsenal for £67.5m and Palace are still yet to find a replacement for the creative midfielder. Yeremy Pino is set to join the club from Villarreal after a deal worth up to £26m was agreed, while Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson and Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis are other targets after a deal for Leicester’s Bilal El Khannouss broke down.

There is an acceptance that Guehi will soon need replacing too. Speaking after the 1-0 win over Fredrikstad last week, Parish told Channel 5: “If Marc wants to sign a new contract then he can stay! It’s a difficult situation. Everyone has to sell players to comply with the rules. That’s a situation that we will have to look at in the next 11 days.”

Liverpool have already signed defender Giovanni Leoni from Parma for £26m, but want further reinforcements at the back, with Joe Gomez the only other back-up to Van Dijk and Konate. The performances of Konate have raised eyebrows in the opening three games of the season and highlighted the importance of landing Guehi.

The summer transfer window closes for business on Monday evening, meaning Guehi could play his final two games for Palace against Fredrikstad on Thursday and against Aston Villa on Sunday.