David Ornstein: Liverpool believe they’ve signed ELITE talent

Liverpool believe they've got their hands on a truly elite talent. That's according to The Athletic's David Ornstein.

David Ornstein has given an update on Liverpool's Marc Guehi pursuit in the Athletic. The Reds remain engaged in the transfer, hoping to sign Crystal Palace's captain before the transfer window closes.

But it's a complicated one. Palace do want to sell - they can't afford to lose a valuable player for nothing at the end of the season.

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However, they also want to get a solid fee for him. Too low and there's arguably more value in simply keeping him around for another year.

But chairman Steve Parish has admitted that they want to move Guehi on before the window shuts. Liverpool remain the only club likely to get him.

And Ornstein reiterates that point in his report. "If he leaves Palace now, Guehi only has eyes for Liverpool," he writes.

However, there's a hang up. Liverpool aren't 100 per cent sure they need the player anymore.

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Liverpool's centre-back options

Ornstein claims Liverpool aren't as all-in on Guehi as they could be, if only because there's no great need for an extra centre-back right now. That's because they view their current four options as 'elite'.

And that's particularly notable as Giovanni Leoni is in that group. The 18-year-old joined Liverpool last Friday in a £25m deal from Parma.

It appears Liverpool immediately view him in that 'elite' bracket and as a viable option from the get-go. Thus they don't actually need to overpay for Guehi and there appears to be a level of patience.

We're certain they'd sign him for around £20m if Palace were open to it - they're negotiating for a reason, after all, and they do want the player. But £35m? It doesn't look like Liverpool are willing to pay that much for someone they fancy getting in a year's time.

The Leoni transfer essentially swung the power back in Liverpool's favour over Guehi. They're no longer a side eager to bring in a centre-back as they were a week ago.

Instead, Palace are the ones eager to get a return for their captain and Liverpool are the only ones capable of giving them that. This will come down to the wire, with Palace needing to decide whether 'something' is better than nothing.

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