Marc Guehi’s potential transfer to Liverpool collapsed in the dying embers of deadline day.
Everything seemed to be in order with the transfer as the centre-back had even undergone his medical with the Reds.
In the end, however, due to Crystal Palace being unable to source a suitable replacement for their captain in time, the deal was called off.
Not only does this mean that Arne Slot missed out on his dream centre-back target, but it also means that the Reds have been left a bit light in defence.
At the moment, Liverpool have four senior centre-backs among their first-team squad, but with the injury history of players such as Joe Gomez, it’s unclear whether they’ll be available throughout the season.
Rio Ferdinand believes Crystal Palace bullied Marc Guehi into staying at Selhurst Park
Over the course of the summer transfer window, we’ve seen several players, such as Alexander Isak, getting their dream moves after kicking up a fuss and refusing to play.
And, even though it was evident that Guehi wanted to make the move to Liverpool, the Englishman just got on with his job and even captained the Eagles to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa last weekend.
In that game, the centre-back scored an absolute screamer, which left things feeling like that was the perfect way for his story with Palace to end, but evidently, that wasn’t the case.
And, while speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand gave his thoughts on the way Palace have handled Guehi’s transfer this summer.
“Marc Guehi, a wonderful young, polite, respectable human being,” he said.
“I’m not saying Isak isn’t because he is, I heard he is, I’m not saying that, I’m just talking and telling you what I know because I know Marc Guehi.
“Beautiful young human being, dances and tip-toes around it, does things the right way, does things the way the media says it should be done, he’s quiet, unassuming, non-confrontational, the fans love this, this is what they respect, this is what they like.
“Transfer deadline day, he don’t even get a move, he’s stuck, he’s at Crystal Palace, they said ‘no, you’re not going’ because they knew he wasn’t going to fight, he’s not that way.
“So the club bully him, so the club say no, you’re not going anywhere, so we’re going to take that move out of your hands, the dream move to the Champions who could potentially win three or four trophies this year.”
Liverpool should try and sign Marc Guehi in January for even less money
Although there’s no hiding from the fact that Liverpool would have preferred to have Guehi at their disposal from the start of the season, him joining in January wouldn’t be all that bad either.
After the move collapsed on Monday, reports instantly started to emerge about Liverpool making a move for Guehi in January.
Of course, by then he’ll only have six months left on his deal, which means he’s likely to be worth less than half of the £35million Liverpool were willing to pay this summer.
However, by waiting to sign the Englishman until January, it will give Slot a better understanding of how good players such as Giovanni Leoni are, as they’ll have a better chance of playing.
Indeed, it’s still early days and the summer window closed less than 24 hours ago, but, on the face of things, a January move for Guehi makes complete sense.
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