Liverpool in race to sign England contract rebel before it's too late

Liverpool are facing plenty of uncertainty in the centre-back position.

Having sold Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen last summer - for around £35m - the club needed to add another top-quality performer in that position.

Sporting director Richard Hughes got a deal over the line for Giovanni Leoni - an 18-year-old prodigy signed from Parma for £26m.

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However the summer transfer window also brought some moving parts elsewhere which will need to be resolved before long.

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For example there is the Joe Gomez situation. Liverpool listened to bids for their long-serving player but opted to keep hold of the England international for one more season at least.

Liverpool lose their exclusive shot at Guehi

And then there's Ibrahima Konate. It would be only fair to describe the 26-year-old contract situation as being in a state of flux.

Liverpool signed the Frenchman back in 2021 - and his contract runs out in summer 2026.

So far sporting director Richard Hughes has been unable to tie the defender down to a new deal - opening the door to a potential free transfer to Real Madrid next summer.

And it's against this backdrop that Liverpool's chase for Marc Guehi was conducted in the summer transfer window.

Liverpool tried to add the Crystal Palace captain on a £35m deal just before the summer transfer deadline - but his club opted out of the deal at the last minute.

And now there is a worry that Liverpool's time may have passed.

Liverpool joined by Euro giants in Guehi chase

The club have conducted a lot of heavy lifting in this deal - even getting down to sort out a medical. But with Guehi's contract also expiring in 2026, there is a gap now opening up for rival clubs to make a bid to land him on a free transfer.

A new report in the Mirror claims that Manchester City are going to come into the reckoning - having largely sat out the summer race as they believed the Liverpool deal was sewn up.

But the danger for the Reds doesn't end there. The same report also cites Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter Milan as potential candidates to land the 25-year-old stopper in 2026.

The Premier League champions will still fancy their chances of landing the former Chelsea youth - considering he has more or less agreed to move them once before.

But there is danger lurking due to Guehi's contract situation.

He is unlikely to leave in January - meaning that by the turn of the year he will be entitled to talk to potentially interested overseas parties.

Liverpool will lose their exclusive shot at talking to Guehi - meaning they will be crossing their fingers that he remains committed to signing for them next year.

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