Jamie Carragher hasn’t held back when assessing the Reds’ collapsed move for Marc Guehi, questioning the club’s transfer approach.
Liverpool dominated the summer transfer window with a staggering outlay of almost £450 million, reshaping their squad under Arne Slot. Around £190m was recouped through player sales, yet despite the heavy investment, club legend Jamie Carragher believes one glaring weakness remains.
The former Reds defender feels the champions may regret missing out on Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, whose deadline-day transfer collapsed at the final hurdle.
Liverpool had agreed a £35m fee with Palace, and the England international even underwent a medical in London on September 1. But the deal fell apart after Palace manager Oliver Glasner refused to sanction the sale without a replacement. When West Ham hijacked Brighton defender Igor Julio’s proposed switch, Glasner is said to have threatened to quit if Guehi was sold, forcing the Eagles to block the transfer.
Reports now suggest Liverpool will wait until Guehi becomes a free agent next summer rather than reignite interest in January a stance Carragher isn’t convinced is wise.
Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Carragher explained:
“There was a report from a couple of journalists, who are basically the best journalists on the beat, they did a story a couple of days ago saying that Liverpool would wait until next season to get him on a free, they wouldn’t go in January.
“So what I’m saying is they wouldn’t write that unless they felt it was true. I think they will try and bring him in again. Listen, I am sure there’s been a lot of talk between him (Guehi) and the agent and the top people at Liverpool and they have pulled the plug at the last minute and they say: ‘Listen, we’re still in for you…’
“But it sounds like it’ll be more at the end of the season than January. Maybe [the fee] was £10m but they are like: ’No, we want you on a free.’”
He then went on to stress Liverpool’s long-standing approach to the market
“Liverpool always do what they see in their eyes as value for money.
“Might they regret that? Oh yeah, I think there’s one situation with Liverpool, that’s the one area… listen, they are three games in, nine points from nine and probably not played that well, so we would probably all say they are big favourites, Liverpool.”
“But that is the one area where that could come back and blow up in their face because they haven’t really got that [cover]. What Guehi was getting was giving Liverpool competition at centre-back. They haven’t really got that. They’ve got two starters and two understudies.”
The Sky Sports pundit highlighted the risk of relying on Joe Gomez and new signing young Giovanni Leoni if injuries strike:
“Joe Gomez, injury-prone himself, and the young lad from Italy (Giovanni Leoni), he is going to be a great prospect, but if you think if one of them had to play for a couple of months, it is a big difference.”
Despite a perfect start to the season, Carragher fears Liverpool’s lack of depth in central defence could ultimately cost them:
“That is the one area where it could come back and blow up in their face.”
For now, Liverpool are not expected to return for Guehi in January. Instead, the plan is to revisit the situation next summer when the England international is set to be available on a free transfer. But as Reds supporters know only too well, a title challenge can quickly unravel if injuries hit at the wrong time.
