Hughes to 'lowball' Palace as Marc Guehi talks begin and with 'frightening' deal ON

Liverpool have opened talks with Crystal Palace over a deal to sign Marc Guehi, with the player understood to have made a move to Anfield his personal choice and with a top journalist revealing how another Richard Hughes masterclass could ultimately secure his signing from Crystal Palace for a lower-than-expected fee.

The Merseysiders have exploded out the transfer blocks this summer, with sporting director Hughes working feverishly to significantly strengthen Arne Slot’s title-winning squad. To that end, signing number five of the summer in Milos Kerkez has finally been made official, with the Hungarian joining Giorgi Mamardashvili (arranged last summer), Jeremie Frimpong, Armin Pecsi and Florian Wirtz as new Liverpool players.

Despite that now record £190m-plus (€223m, $261m) outlay, the Merseysiders are far from done yet and, with a series of big-money sales now planned, Liverpool are ready to armour themselves further with two more top-class signings.

While a new centre forward is very much on their radar – more on that later – the Reds are also desperate to bolster their central defensive options. And the imminent departure of Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen has freed up the space and funds in Slot’s squad to move for an upgrade.

To that end, the Reds have very firmly locked on to England defender Guehi in recent weeks. And with his deal at Selhurst Park expiring a year from now, Crystal Palace have made it clear they are open to his sale for the right price.

They are understood to value the 24-year-old in the £70m bracket. However, owing to the dwindling time on contract, together with the fact that he is understood to have stated his wish to move to Merseyside above all other suitors, the Daily Mail have revealed that Hughes is piecing together a ‘lowball’ bid of just £30m to the FA Cup winners.

And journalist Lewis Steele – one of the first to reveal news of Liverpool’s planned swoop for Wirtz earlier this summer – believes that while that is likely to be rejected, Palace could be ultimately forced to accept a package in the region of £40m (€47m, $55m) for their star defender.

Either way, sources have told TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Fraser Fletcher that the Reds have begun the process of holding talks with Palace to ascertain how much they are seeking for the 24-year-old and with the prospective move branded ‘frightening’ by former Everton chief Keith Wyness.

DON’T MISS 🔴 Marc Guehi transfer to Liverpool hinges on two factors, according to James Pearce

Liverpool told Marc Guehi transfer is ON – and it’s a ‘no-brainer’ deal

We revealed over the weekend that Liverpool are close to agreeing personal terms with Guehi over a lengthy contract at Anfield.

And with Palace now resigned to losing him, and having targeted a deal for Sporting CP’s Ousmane Diomande as a replacement, the Eagles will try and hold out for the best price possible for the 23-times capped England man.

In the meantime, the capture of Guehi has been branded a ‘no-brainer’ for Slot, with the centre-half already regarded as one of the best around and with the player expected to further solidify the reigning champions.

“It would be a no-brainer for them (Liverpool) if they can get hold of him, and all the noises coming out of the Marc Guehi camp are that he’s keen to go,” former Everton chief executive Wyness told Football Insider.

“I think it’s a fantastic deal. I think Palace also recognise that I think he’s got just another year left on his contract. So they’d like to cash in as well. All parties could be very happy.

“If you remember the days when Virgil van Dijk came from Southampton, he was a big-money signing at the time, but he’s proven to be a superb buy. He’s done really well. I think he and Guehi, if they can keep fit, would be fantastic.

“I’m frightened to say it, but yes, it’s going to be a good signing for Liverpool and I think it will go through.”

Liverpool’s initial plan was for Guehi to replace Quansah, but football financial advisor Stefan Borson also thinks Ibrahima Konate could depart this summer and that may have triggered the Reds to act with haste over Guehi.

“If Liverpool get the opportunity to sell Konate, they’d be open to it,” Borson said.

“From what I hear, there hasn’t been much progress in his contract talks and they would rather make money on him now rather than let him go for free.

“Liverpool have got a few concerns about Konate because he’s got a mistake in him. They got away with a few last year because of their position so far ahead of everybody else on the table, but that won’t always be that way.

“If they want to win European cups and that sort of thing, they can’t afford that. It’s a hard thing to accept because he is a good player, but they feel they can upgrade on him.

“If they can go out and get a replacement, like Marc Guehi, for example, it’s something they’re going to explore to improve their starting XI. And if teams come in for Konate, they’re going to listen to those offers.

“Ideally, they’d like him to sign a contract, and then they’ll have a decision to make about who is going to start, but if he doesn’t sign, they want to move him on.”

Liverpool transfer latest: Kerkez outlines Reds ambitions; huge Osimhen claims

Meanwhile, in his first interview as a Liverpool player, Kerkez sent a slight barb in Manchester United’s direction by labelling the Merseysiders as the ‘biggest club in England’ and having outlined his ambitions at the club.

The Hungarian has signed a five-year deal at Anfield after a sparkling two-year spell with Bournemouth and signs for Hughes for the second time in his career.

Elsewhere, talks between Liverpool and Napoli over an explosive deal to take Victor Osimhen to Anfield have been confirmed by another source, though the Reds still have work to do after it was revealed the Serie A champions had rejected their initial offer of an “equal exchange” involving Federico Chiesa and Darwin Nunez.

The two sales of Chiesa and Nunez look set to be part of a giant summer clearout on Merseyside and, with a number of departures already confirmed, a report this week has named the 11 players in total who will likely be shown the door as Slot takes a ruthless approach with his squad.

How Guehi compared to Quansah across the 2024/25 season

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