While the arrival of Parma centre half Giovanni Leoni and a return from injury for Joe Gomez in Friday’s Premier League opener against Bournemouth suggest Liverpool’s defensive depth chart isn’t perhaps in quite as worrying a state as it looked this time last week, the Reds continue are continuing to push to strengthen at the position.
With just around two weeks to go in the summer transfer window, that isn’t exactly a secret. It also isn’t exactly a secret that Liverpool would like to strengthen
at centre half by bringing in 25-year-old Crystal Palace captain and England international Marc Guéhi—though as of the latest reliable reporting, the two sides are yet to close on a fee that would be acceptable to both clubs.
However, the BBC today are claiming that Guéhi is still expected to join Liverpool before the window slams shut, and they’re pushing a £35M fee as the likely settling point. This isn’t entirely new news, as around a week ago it was claimed talks would intensify following the Community Shield and that £35M was the likely settling point.
Since then, about all that seems to have really changed is that a week has passed. Though for the body language experts in the cheap seats, there was an odd moment to note following Palace’s nil-nil draw with Chelsea over the weekend when Guéhi appeared resistant to manager Oliver Glasner’s attempts to shake his hand following the match.
We’ll see in the coming days, then, if this time around reports of Liverpool and Palace closing on a £35M compromise for Guéhi that suits all parties is actually close to happening. Or if we’re set for another week where we don’t hear a lot about this potential transfer before again being told next week a deal is close and a £35M fee is the likely settling point.
