Tottenham Hotspur have been credited with continued interest in Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guéhi, who is thought to remain a leading target for Liverpool.
The England international has found his future dissected over the summer. With less than one year remaining on his contract, it has been claimed that Guéhi is unwilling to sign a new deal, putting Palace in an awkward position. Unless they sell their talismanic vice-captain this year, he would be free to leave without the need for a transfer fee.
Faced with this standoff, Palace have supposedly set a reasonable price tag of between £40 million and £45 million ($54.9 million and $61.8 million) for a 25-year-old international approaching his prime. Yet, Liverpool’s route to another acquisition this summer may be blocked by the presence of Spurs.
Tottenham were heavily linked with a move for Guéhi during the January transfer window and reportedly had several bids rebuffed by Palace. This was before it emerged that the defender was willing to run down his contract, thereby softening the Eagles’ stance. The Telegraph claim that Spurs are “weighing up” another run at Guéhi.
Thomas Frank is not short of defensive options. Behind the clear first-choice pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, Tottenham can lean on Kevin Danso and Radu Drăgușin. However, Romero has openly spoken about the prospect of playing in Spain—“I’d love to, honestly,” he admitted in April.
In the event of Romero’s departure, Tottenham would surely be inclined to recruit a replacement. The Telegraph adds that Spurs are monitoring the situation of Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, who has also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and, naturally, Liverpool.
Frank dismissed talk of a new centre-back as nothing more than “theory” at his introductory press conference. “Right now he’s here,” the Danish boss huffed when discussing Romero, “that’s what I’m focusing on. As long as players are here, I’m training them, I’m playing with them. He’s definitely here and very committed. I know he’s looking forward to the season.”
Where Romero—and Guéhi—will be playing in the coming campaign still very much remains to be seen.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Liverpool’s Pursuit of Marc Guehi Challenged by Premier League Rival.