Why Guehi is the exception that proves the rule in Liverpool's defender chase

If Liverpool are unable to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, they will revert to their preferred profile for an addition at centre-back.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

It is easy enough to understand why Liverpool have not acted on their monitoring of the centre-back market in recent summers.

Ultimately, a team that, unlike Manchester City and Arsenal, is not utilising such profiles at full-back as well as centrally has never had the need to go out and add a fifth option to its squad, barring a truly unmissable opportunity arising.

In the view of the club’s recruitment staff, that did not happen, and combined with Jarell Quansah’s handy emergence as a Joel Matip replacement, this has resulted in no centre-half signing being made since Ibrahima Konate’s arrival in 2021.

However, Quansah’s (perhaps unexpected) departure to Bayer Leverkusen this summer means things are set to change, opening up questions about exactly what kind of player will be sought.

Fortunately, sources close to Liverpool insist their position has been outlined clearly enough even in the many recent windows in which they failed to sign in this position.

Take last summer’s interest in then-18-year-old Leny Yoro for example, which ended in the Frenchman joining Manchester United in a £52m deal.

That fee was deemed too steep given the player’s current level and the Reds’ inability to promise regular minutes, a decision proven to be wise by the clubs’ respective seasons and Yoro’s contributions at Old Trafford.

Liverpool also, of course, held a strong interest in 20-year-old Dean Huijsen this summer, and were considered frontrunners for his signature until the late entry of his dream club Real Madrid into the race.

Still, the desire to add a young centre-back with room to grow is obvious, and is why the likes of Parma’s Giovanni Leoni and Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis have been watched.