Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, two fascinating young midfielders who have already been signed by Liverpool for the upcoming season, show how quickly the Reds have moved to complete their business during the summer transfer window.
Last season, the Reds struggled to uphold their high standards in both the Premier League and on the European stage. As a result, many fans hoped that the club would attempt to address the problems and underwhelming performances by bringing in new talent.
Indeed, the Anfield faithful will be thrilled with the signing of the two attacking-minded midfielders, however, there is still plenty of work to be done to bring the team back to life and deliver on the expectations that have been set over Jurgen Klopp’s tenure so far.
The Athletic’s Liverpool reporter James Pearce claimed in an article this week that the club are no longer making the signing of a third midfielder a priority and instead are more likely to focus on bringing in a centre-back who can inject some youth into the defensive set-up.
Both Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip are well into their 30s at this point with the latter set to be out of contract at the end of next season, so there is a real opportunity to strengthen the personnel and provide Ibrahima Konate with another young prospect to work alongside as part of the long-term future of the team.
One player who has been linked with a move to Merseyside this week is Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.
How much is Marc Guehi?
A talented centre-back who has been going from strength to strength over the last two seasons, the Englishman has become a huge asset to the South London club.
Football Insider report that Liverpool are interested in signing Guehi this summer, however, Palace will command a whopping £60m fee to part ways with their defensive prodigy.
How good is Marc Guehi?
Owing to his expensive price tag it would seem unlikely that FSG would sanction the funds to snap up the services of Guehi this summer, however, this will depend on just how urgent the need is felt to strengthen the centre-back role and whether Klopp can trust his current crop of players.
Should Matip be allowed to leave on a free next summer, it would leave Klopp’s options limited to Konate, Van Dijk, Nat Phillips and Joe Gomez, unless of course, the club decide to invest in the 2024 transfer windows.
This would also be without taking into consideration potential injury issues, something that plagued Konate’s ability to be a consistent presence over last season with only 18 appearances and 17 starts in the Premier League last season.
As a result, the signing of Guehi – dubbed “composed” by Patrick Vieira – could be the perfect opportunity to bolster the centre-back options with a Premier League-proven defender who could not only maintain the quality needed when others are injured but would be a great upgrade on Gomez
When comparing the positional peers’ output in the league last season, Guehi comfortably outperformed the Liverpool centre-back in a number of attributes including percentage of dribblers tackled (61.9% v 57.9%), aerial duels won (55.7% v 54.8%), interceptions (45 v 25) and ball recoveries (241 v 126), as per FBref.
The 22-year-old has been the recipient of high praise over his career so far, with Club Brugge ‘keeper Josef Bursik naming Guehi when asked to pick the strongest player in England’s U21 squad a few seasons ago:
“Marc Guehi. He’s an absolute tank, It’s like having a brick wall in front of you, he’s massive.”
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Liverpool to sign Guehi this summer as it could well be a move that facilities an exit for Gomez
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