Liverpool’s £35 million deal to sign Marc Guehi has now fallen through after Crystal Palace pulled out of an agreement at the last hour.
Guehi had undergone a medical at Liverpool’s offices in London after the two clubs agreed terms on a deal worth an initial £35 million.
But the move was delayed due to a disagreement with Palace manager Oliver Glasner and the champions were left to file a deal sheet with the Premier League to extend the deadline to 9pm.
Liverpool were then left disappointed as Palace informed them they would no longer be going through with the deal as agreed.
Instead Guehi is set to stay at Selhurst Park for at least the first half of the season, with Palace having failed to adequately replace their captain.
Liverpool will therefore wait to revive their pursuit of the England international, which could occur either in January or next summer.
They will be safe in the knowledge that Guehi already agreed to join and will be available on a free transfer on July 1, 2026.
However it clearly serves as a blow to their plans for the current campaign, despite Arne Slot emphasising the strength in depth he enjoys at centre-back following the 1-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday.
Joe Gomez – who was denied a move to AC Milan on deadline day – came off the bench to replace Ibrahima Konate late on at Anfield due to a bout of cramp for the Frenchman.
It allowed Gomez to reprise his outstanding partnership with Virgil van Dijk, while Slot remarked in his post-match press conference that he simply did not have room on his bench for £26 million signing Giovanni Leoni.
Such is Liverpool’s belief in Leoni as a genuine first-team option, however, that suggestions of a loan back to Parma were immediately dismissed during talks last month.
Leoni earned his first call-up to the Italy squad under Gennaro Gattuso for September, which could see him build valuable game time having not played since a pre-season friendly loss to Heidenheim a month ago.
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