Liverpool have back-up plan ready if Crystal Palace keep ‘stringing them along’ for Marc Guehi

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Liverpool are continuing in their pursuit of a centre-back signing this summer after selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen.

Quansah’s exit has left the Reds with just three senior defenders ahead of the new season, with Arne Slot in need of at least one new addition.

Marc Guehi has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield, and the Crystal Palace captain is clearly of real interest to Liverpool.

However, Palace are demanding a big fee to let Guehi go, while Liverpool are keen to take advantage of the 24-year-old’s contract expiring in a year’s time.

As things stand, it does not appear that progress is being made on a fee which suits all parties.

Consequently, Liverpool may need to pivot to a plan B. And according to journalist David Lynch, the Reds are more than prepared to do that.

Liverpool will look to sign younger centre-back

Guehi’s potential addition has split the Liverpool fanbase somewhat.

Some see the England international as an accomplished Premier League player with his best years ahead of him, others think Guehi is overpriced and not quite at the level required.

Either way, it is clear that Liverpool must do something, and writing in his Substack column, Lynch says that if Guehi turns out to be impossible this summer, the Reds will once again try to recruit an up and coming young centre-back.

“As of last week, there had been no firm approach to Crystal Palace, with outline contact limited to the players’ representatives in an attempt to sell the move,” the journalist reports.

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“And it remains to be seen whether the Eagles can be tempted into a deal that Liverpool would consider reasonable, particularly as they gave Newcastle the run-around last summer in their pursuit of the same player.

“But, should the Reds sense they are being strung along in a similar fashion, then it is expected that they will simply revert to pursuing a player that aligns with their original aims for the position.”

Liverpool watching Giovanni Leoni and Konstantinos Koulierakis

The ‘original aims’ for Liverpool in central defence appear to be signing a young defender who has plenty of room to develop.

And according to Lynch, both Giovanni Leoni of Parma and Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis are firmly on the radar.

“The desire to add a young centre-back with room to grow is obvious,” he says. “And is why the likes of Parma’s Giovanni Leoni and Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis have been watched.”

“However, it is also interesting to note that senior Anfield figures are open to admitting that they would consider deviating from this preferred profile in the event of a ‘significant market opportunity’.”

As Rousing The Kop revealed earlier this week, Leoni is certainly of interest to Liverpool. But, as things stand, Parma are keen to keep hold of the 18-year-old.