Are Liverpool finally closing in on a deal to sign Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi?

Unless Arne Slot is getting a little carried away after watching his Liverpool side keep a first clean sheet away from home since mid-September against West Ham on Sunday, it is hard to know what to make of speculation surrounding the club’s plans for the forthcoming transfer window.

On Wednesday, a report in the German newspaper Bild claimed a move for Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck has been put on ice by the Anfield hierarchy. It followed previous suggestions that Liverpool had approached Schlotterbeck’s representatives about a possible transfer, either in January or next summer. The 26-year-old Germany international, whose contract expires in 2027, is now expected to remain at Dortmund and run down his contract unless an appealing offer from an elite European club materialises.

News that Schlotterbeck is not regarded by Liverpool as a priority signing follows claims this week that the club will not move for Marc Guéhi in January either. With his contract set to expire next summer, the England centre-back, who was on the brink of joining Liverpool in August only for Crystal Palace to pull out of a £35m deal, will be free to negotiate with foreign clubs from 1 January.

Both Schlotterbeck and Guéhi, who is 25, are experienced internationals approaching their peak years who would represent good value. Liverpool’s defensive shortcomings, exposed once again in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland and exacerbated by the season-ending injury suffered by Giovanni Leoni, the Italian teenager signed from Parma this summer, have been well documented. If the club has no immediate plans to make a move for either Schlotterbeck or Guéhi, what does it say about their intentions?

Will Arne Slot move to bolster his defensive options in January?

The obvious conclusion is that Slot, struggling to integrate an expensive array of summer acquisitions into a dressing room stricken by grief following the death of Diogo Jota, has simply decided to work with what he has.

With Conor Bradley potentially available to play at Leeds this weekend and Jeremie Frimpong set to return to training next week, there are signs that Liverpool’s injury crisis at right-back is easing. That, combined with solid performances from Joe Gomez in that position in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over West Ham and the draw with Sunderland, may have encouraged Slot to believe that juggling existing resources is preferable to bringing in yet more new faces.

But with Ibrahima Konaté yet to sign a new contract despite cooling interest from Real Madrid, who had previously shown interest in acquiring the France international when his contract expires next summer, the need to sign a new centre-back has not gone away. 

Slot has shown a strange reluctance to play Gomez, even allowing for the 28-year-old’s chequered injury record. It was notable that, ahead of Sunderland’s visit to Anfield, the Dutchman talked up the importance of Dominik Szoboszlai’s contribution to Gomez’s eye-catching display against West Ham. The impression remains that, for whatever reason, he does not completely trust the England international.

So while it may be tempting to suppose that Liverpool will seek to address their defensive issues from within, it is also hard to believe they have given up on the possibility of using the January window to strengthen. Since Richard Hughes took up the role of sporting director last year, the club has been nothing if not forward-looking in its transfer dealings; some would say too much so. It would seem most un-Liverpool-like to let slip the opportunity to sign either Schlotterbeck or Guéhi at below market value.

To put it bluntly, why would Liverpool abandon their reported interest in Schlotterbeck at the very moment when he appears set on a move and has declined Dortmund’s offer of a lucrative contract extension? 

Why Liverpool could be closing in on a January deal for Marc Guéhi

We are entering the realm of speculation, but the obvious conclusion is that they already have someone else lined up. Contrary to claims that Liverpool are not targeting him in January, Guéhi would seem the obvious candidate. The club is understood to have reopened talks with the England international’s representatives in an attempt to fend off interest from Real Madrid, and there can be no denying that the move would make sense for all parties. 

A respectable bid for Guéhi would allow the Selhurst Park club to recoup some money for their captain, and while the difficulty of identifying a replacement late in the summer transfer window was a key reason his move to Anfield fell through, that obstacle no longer appears to be insurmountable, given Palace’s reported interest in Ousmane Diomande. Guéhi himself is understood to be receptive to the idea and, with both Konaté and Virgil van Dijk struggling for form, Liverpool’s need could not be greater. 

At their best, Liverpool have tended to act swiftly and decisively in the market, a point underlined last season when news of the impending arrival of Florian Wirtz started to filter through even as the club were lifting the Premier League trophy. If that transfer felt at the time like a first move towards establishing a dynasty, this one has an air of necessity.