Former Reds midfielder Don Hutchison says Liverpool have “already squandered their chances” of signing Crystal Palace captain Marc Guech. The reigning Premier League champions were on the verge of signing the England international for £35m on transfer deadline day, but the move was called off at the last minute after Palace failed to sign Igor Julio, who instead joined West Ham United from Brighton.
Guehi’s contract expires next summer, but Liverpool remain a target. But Hutchison, who played 60 games for the Reds between 1991 and 1994, insists manager Arn Slott cannot wait until the end of the season to sign an England international.
“They blew their chance to get him,” Hutchison told SportsCasting.com. “One million per cent. I mean, I want to be a fly on the wall at Liverpool when the signing of Guehi didn’t happen.
“Let’s say Crystal Palace wanted £45m. Liverpool should have given them £50m because they were going to keep Marc Guehy for six years. They should have paid the money.”
“If you compare Liverpool and Arsenal, you see in (Ricardo) Calafioli and (Julian) Timber, along with (William) Saliba and Gabriel, you have two decent guys who can’t be bullied and two decent guys who can’t be bullied.
“So you have four centre-backs there. If Marc Göhi was at Liverpool now, he would play at left-back and you would have (Ibrahima) Konate, (Virgil) van Dijk, (Conor) Bradley and Göhi, and you would think Chriqui. It’s pretty versatile.”
“Liverpool should have paid whatever Palace wanted. I think it was a poor move. They were very focused on signing[Alexander]Isak.
“I understand that, because I can’t say no. But Guehi had to be another priority. If we want to finish in the top four, this January has to be a landmark with Guehi.”
“They need to do everything in their power to sign him in January because I think by the summer he will have a lot of options and they will be more attractive to him and his family.”
Regarding Ibrahima Konate, whose contract expires next summer, Hutchison added: “I want to keep Konate from now until the end of the season because he’s a good body to have on hand in case Virgil gets injured or if Gehi signs and gets a knock.”
“Even if Gehi becomes a left-back, we’ll still need Konate. I’m not going to let him go until the summer, but if he wants to go on a free transfer, Liverpool will have an iron or two to replace him.”
Palace chairman Steve Parish recently spoke about Gehi’s failed move to the Reds and the defender’s future.
He revealed: “They had made an offer and it was Liverpool. They were a huge club so he was obviously interested in leaving. But if that was our decision then he had no problem agreeing to stay.”
“Obviously, that means as a player the ball is all in his court and he has a choice of where he wants to go. It was a very difficult game, but I think it was definitely the right game.”
