Marc Guehi to Liverpool comes down to £25m

Marc Guehi to Liverpool has come down to around £25m. This one could go either way.

Liverpool are in a tricky situation when it comes to their defence. Jarell Quansah is very close to sealing a move to Bayer Leverkusen after a difficult season.

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The centre-back fell completely out of favour with Arne Slot, despite starting the campaign as the first-choice partner for Virgil van Dijk. The player he lost his place to, Ibrahima Konate, is now a problem for Liverpool.

He's entering the final year of his contract (in fact, that's official as of tomorrow). It's looking increasingly clear that Konate won't renew without a massive pay rise and Liverpool don't appear to want to pay it.

The obvious 'solution' to that problem is replacing Konate. The Reds appear to have their preferred choice in mind, too: Marc Guehi.

The Crystal Palace captain is also entering the last 12 months on his deal. The question is whether Palace decide to sell now or let him see out the final year before leaving for free.

And their decision there affects Liverpool greatly. The Reds hope to sign Guehi on the cheap but there appears to be a willingness to wait this one out if the Eagles aren't willing to drop their fee.

So with that all in mind, here's the latest.

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Liverpool want Marc Guehi

Palace site 'The Palace Way' claims Liverpool and Palace are actually some way apart here. They say Guehi is sold on a move to Anfield but won't force his way out this summer.

That allows his current club total negotiating power, essentially. Their price is apparently £25m ahead of Liverpool's valuation.

Now, the BBC claims Palace would accept £45m for Guehi, which lines up here. It's entirely believable that Liverpool feel Guehi is worth around £20m with one year left.

Or at the very least, they believe their starting bid should be around £20m.

The important - and very notable - thing here is Guehi has been convinced of game time at Liverpool. Given Konate is still at the club, we're not sure how that guarantee has come about.

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It certainly suggests that either Konate is leaving or Liverpool feel Guehi is an immediate upgrade who usurps the Frenchman. If it's the latter, then they'll end up paying the money to sign him this summer - he'd be worth it for the upcoming season.