When can Liverpool sign Marc Guehi? | OneFootball

Marc Guehi is still a Crystal Palace player after his £35m deadline day move to Liverpool broke down at the 11th hour.

Both clubs had agreed on a fee for the defender, who had undergone his Liverpool medical on Monday. However, the FA Cup winners withdrew from the deal after they failed to sign their preferred replacement when Igor Julio decided to join West Ham instead of Palace.

While Palace did buy another centre-back, in Jaydee Canvot, the 19-year-old was not considered ready to step in for Guehi straight away.

It means the Eagles captain will have to wait for his move away, which is still expected to come inside the next 12 months.

By forfeiting the £35m fee for Guehi, Palace now risk losing the player for free to Liverpool next summer when his contract at Selhurst Park expires.

However, Palace could still choose to cash in on the England international when the winter transfer window rolls around in January, providing Liverpool are still keen to splash out on the defender.

The failure to secure a preferred replacement at short notice was key to Guehi’s deadline day move falling apart, with Palace seemingly content with losing their skipper as long an adequate fee was recouped and reinforcements were brought in.

Therefore, if Palace are able to use the next four to five months to scour the market and identify suitable centre-back targets for January, the club may once again opt to sell for a fee, opening the door for Arne Slot’s side to swoop.

Note that any transfer fee for Guehi in January will be significantly down from the £35m agreed on deadline day due to the fact he will only have six months left on his Palace contract.

But if come January, Liverpool choose to gamble on waiting to sign Guehi in the summer for free, they may lose out on him entirely.

That’s because once he enters the final six months of his deal, he will be allowed sign a pre-agreement with any foreign club to join for free on 1 July.

Liverpool will not have this option as this six-month rule only applies to clubs outside of England. When it comes to domestic free-agent transfers in England, a club cannot engage with a player playing for another club until they have entered the final month of their contract.

Liverpool will hence need to make the decision whether to pursue a cut-price deal for Guehi in January, or put their pursuit of the defender on hold until June next year - by which point, it may be too late.