Lineker claims Guehi was 'used' in transfer tug of war; shocked by one Reds deal

Former England striker Gary Lineker insists Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi was “used” during his failed move to Liverpool over the summer.

The Reds had a very busy summer transfer window with eight new faces coming through the door at Anfield before the window shut on Monday.

Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giovanni Leoni and Alexander Isak, as well as two back-up goalkeepers, joined Liverpool over the summer.

A deal for Crystal Palace captain Guehi would have been the cherry on top of the cake but a deal fell through in the final seconds of deadline day.

Reports indicated that Guehi was undergoing his medical ahead of a £35m switch from Selhurst Park when he found out that Crystal Palace had pulled out of the deal after failing to bring in the necessary replacements.

Oliver Glasner reportedly threatened to quit Crystal Palace if Guehi was sold without two replacements and the Eagles boss eventually won the battle with chairman Steve Parish to keep the England international.

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Liverpool are expected to try again for Guehi in the January transfer window with the latest reports indicating he will be available at a reduced price of £25m.

And Lineker feels for Guehi with the England centre-back “used” by Crystal Palace with a transfer to Liverpool “almost on the brink”.

Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast: “If I were him [Guehi] now, I wouldn’t try to get the move in January, I would now wait until the end of my contract, which is next summer, and go on a free.

“They’ve used him a little bit, there’s no question about that, I mean to take it that far, to go almost on the brink, he probably almost signed the contract, and then to be pulled back was tough on him.

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“But, he’ll get a better deal for himself next summer, certainly financially, who knows if Liverpool will still be in for him at that point, somebody will be because he’s a class act and they also know that he’s a player they can trust as a human being.”

Lineker was surprised that Liverpool allowed the “very talented” Harvey Elliott to depart from Aston Villa on deadline day, although he admits the attacking midfielder needed more minutes.

The former Barcelona and Tottenham striker added: “I think also, it’s good for Harvey. He was the player of the tournament in the Euros at the Under-21s in the summer. He’s very talented, but he needs to play, doesn’t he?

“I thought he might just go out on loan, but I think they’ve got him for 30-odd million. I think that could result in a really good buy.”

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