‘Calm and composed’ Defender is preferred to Liverpool relocation despite the late interest of Manchester City

Laverpool played an exciting 3-2 victory against Newcastle United in St. James Park last night, making it two in two wins to start the Premier League 2025/26 campaign.

The side of Arne Slot was far from their best against that of Eddie Howe. Although he was almost the entire second 45, Newcastle managed to create more opportunities than Liverpool and dominated the game.

A gaping issue that emerged in the first two matches for Liverpool is the central defensive partnership. While Virgil van Dijk continues to look like a rock at the back, the performances of Ibrahima Konate have a lot to be desired.

Liverpool needs a new central defensive signature

Since the beginning of the summer, Liverpool has been linked to a new central defense signature. A player on their radar is Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi. The Englishman is a preferred objective for Arne Slot.

Now, as per Fabrizio RomanoThe 25-year-old English international continues to give preference to an move to Anfield despite a late approach to Manchester City. The journalist has confirmed that the Reds are in conversation to let the deal happen before the end of the window.

If the Merseyside club did not reach an agreement with Palace for Guehi this summer, they would be willing to move for him in 2026 if the Englishman would become a free agent.

Guehi is above that, in terms of quality

Guehi is strongly advertised as one of the best English central defenders who go around. Secondly, after only John Stones in the country in terms of pure quality, he would be an excellent partner for Van Dijk.

His exploits for the Eagles have given him widespread praise. He is a labeled one ‘Calm and composed’ Defender. That is exactly what Liverpool needs at the moment, given the style in which Konate plays. Despite all his ability, the Frenchman always seems to play on the edge and more often than not he seems to have a mistake in him.

Arne Slot currently has three central defenders to count, without taking Joe Gomez into account. Everything comes down to how the negotiations take place with Palace for Guehi and let’s wait and see how things play.