“World-class” talent wants to join Liverpool

Liverpool have a remarkable aversion to confidently defending Premier League titles. This season and in 2021/22, the Reds have found themselves on a sticky wicket after reaching the top, and Arne Slot has to find the answers quickly.

In fairness, the endless rut the club have found themselves in this season looks to have abated. Liverpool have gone four games without defeat, though it would simply be incorrect to suggest that they are back to their best.

With Mohamed Salah‘s uncertain future rumbling in the background, FSG are ready to reinforce the struggling champions with a winter recruit or two.

But it might be at the back, and not in attack, that Liverpool need to prioritise.

Liverpool ready to sign a centre-back

Ibrahima Konate is out of contract at the end of the season, and there is still no resolution in sight. Real Madrid have ended their interest in the French centre-back, though, such has been the severity of his dismal season.

Errors have come by the dozen. Couple that with Konate’s weakness in the build-up, exposed by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure, and you can see that Liverpool desperately need a new elite partner to help the ageing Virgil van Dijk.

Last summer, Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi was the chosen man, and now, sporting director Richard Hughes is ready to return for him.

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According to TEAMtalk, Liverpool remain in pole position for the Three Lions star, with FSG confident that a deal can be struck, considering that personal terms have already been agreed and the player is said to still view Anfield as his preferred destination.

However, Bayern Munich are pushing, and so if the Reds want to avoid any doubts before Guehi’s contract expires at the end of the season, they must bid around £20m to bring him over next month.

However, Liverpool’s defensive crisis suggests that that might not be the worst idea in the world.

Why Liverpool must sign Guehi in January

Guehi, 25, is one of the best centre-backs in Europe. Over four years since leaving Chelsea and joining Crystal Palace, he has established himself as “an absolute Rolls Royce of a defender” who is “world-class calibre”, as put by academy coach David Matthews.

The England star is just now coming into his own, stretching toward a widely recognised elite status. Liverpool must ensure that they secure his services before someone else does, especially since it could revive Van Dijk.

There’s no denying that the Netherlands captain has been poor this season, lacking his typical authority and imperiousness at the back.

But then Liverpool’s dysfunctional system has promoted inconsistency, and Guehi could prove the upgrade on Konate needed to rekindle Van Dijk’s flame.

The Eagles star’s ball-playing game is more expansive and dynamic than Konate’s own, and alongside the 34-year-old Van Dijk, he would help create a wider variety of passing patterns than Liverpool fans have been treated to this year.

Looking at how Guehi compares to Konate in the Premier League this season, you can see that the Englishman has more quality on the ball while also proving more combative and mobile in protecting his backline. Palace, remember, have only conceded 12 goals in the league this season, a total bettered only by Arsenal.

Forget all the technical frills for a second; Guehi is quite simply much more composed on the ball than his Les Bleus counterpart, who has made so many mistakes this season.

Couple that with his progressiveness and intelligence when making forward passes, Guehi could be the perfect partner for the veteran skipper, who is still one of the best centre-halves in the business but is getting on a bit and could do with a stable partner who complements his strengths and adds synergy to the wider tactical system.

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