Could Marc Guehi Become Arne Slot’s First Liverpool Transfer? | OneFootball

England’s Defensive Gem at Euro 2024

If there was one silver lining for England at Euro 2024, it will have been the performance of Marc Guehi. Before the beginning of the tournament, there were question marks over England’s back-line and Guehi in particular.

However, the Crystal Palace defender duly answered all those who doubted him with some brilliant performances throughout the tournament. He even stood out in key defensive metrics, including making the most ball recoveries (44) among defenders in the entire tournament.

Photo: IMAGO

Transfer Speculation Heats Up

His performances will have only put fuel to the fire of speculation that has engulfed him this summer. Guehi is a man who is appreciated by some of England’s best clubs. Most notably, Liverpool and Arsenal with Palace set to be demanding £60m for his services.

Only 23 years old, having captained Palace since he was 21 years old and with years of experience in the Premier League as well as being an established England international – the fee demanded by Palace makes sense for Guehi, and perhaps for Liverpool as well.

Liverpool’s Defensive Needs

It’s no secret Liverpool would like to add another defender to Arne Slot’s squad this summer. Joel Matip’s departure has left Liverpool’s centre-back department short. Sepp van den Berg has looked promising in pre-season so far but it’s moot whether he would settle for a fourth or fifth centre-back role, or whether he would be able to step-up and challenge the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk to be Slot’s first choice.

Photo: IMAGO

Liverpool should look for a proven centre-back who has the ability to challenge Van Dijk and co. and for that Guehi seems like an ideal profile.

Marc Guehi’s Profile

Guehi has always been highly rated. Seven years ago when he first emerged onto the scene – it was while he was competing with a super talented U17 England team at the World Cup, which included the likes of Phil Foden, Rhian Brewster, Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Guehi was captain of the side that made it to the U17 European Championship final – and ultimately lost to Spain on penalties. He didn’t get to wear the captain’s armband in the final of the World Cup later that year in 2017, but he did score in a 5-2 victory over Spain in the final to exact his revenge.

A Chelsea academy graduate at the time, his career has since taken him to Swansea and then finally settling at Palace for the last few seasons now.

What is Guehi’s Playing Style Like?

Defensive Prowess and Flexibility

Guehi is a flexible defender who reads the game really well. He’s difficult to beat in one vs one challenges and ranked in the top five centre-backs last season for defensive duel success rate (72.81%).

The good thing about him is that he’s also flexible. Last season he predominantly played as a left-sided centre-back for Palace – but he is also more than capable of playing on the right side as well.

That flexibility could mean he would not just be an understudy to Van Dijk at Liverpool but could also play alongside him in the instances when Konate is injured and Slot wants to rest Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez.

Composure and Ball-Handling Skills

Overall, Guehi is a composed player on the ball. He’s not afraid to take risks, and he deals well when he is pressed by the opposition. Last season, he ranked among the top 10 centre-backs in the league for dribbles attempted (0.83) per 90 – and he is very comfortable at bringing the ball out from the back.

Despite playing in a very defensive Palace team, Guehi still averaged 7 progressive passes per 90 and 16.87 forward passes – which ranked him among the top 20 centre-backs in the league. These are figures that could scale really well in a team like Liverpool where the onus is even more focused on the centre-back bringing out the ball from the back – especially in Slot’s system, which is concentrated on incisive, quick and short passes.

Speed and Adaptability

On top of that, Guehi is relatively quick – he clocked a top speed of 32.8 km/p at Euro 2024 – this was the same top speed as William Saliba and Cody Gakpo – both of whom are known for their speed.

This again would suggest Guehi would be capable of stepping up and playing for a team in the Premier League’s top four – where he would be asked to play in a higher line and where his speed would be tested on a more regular basis.

What are the Question Marks?

Aerial Ability Concerns

So, we’ve looked at all the positives, of which there are, admittedly, many. The question now remains why haven’t Liverpool, or any other club pounced on Guehi just yet?

One of the biggest concerns data-wise when it comes to Guehi is his aerial ability. Last season, he averaged the lowest aerial duel success rate among defenders in the league winning just – 39.73%.

That’s a really low return with usually the benchmark for a defender who is ‘strong’ in the air starting at around 65% – Guehi is clearly nowhere near that mark.

He may have averaged over 60% the season prior in the league and close to 60% at the Euros. But his career total is still just 56.1% according to Wyscout.

Height Disadvantage

Standing at 1.82 metres, Guehi would be the smallest centre-back Liverpool have in their squad by a distance. Joe Gomez comes the closest at 1.88 metres – but that’s still a considerable 6cm difference between the two of them.

His height has undoubtedly played a role in his lower aerial duel rates – compared to his fellow Liverpool counterparts. And there is no doubt Guehi’s aerial frailties do leave a bit of a concern from a recruitment point of view.

As impressive as he is at everything else – being strong in the air is really important – particularly in the Premier League – and particularly at one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Room for Improvement

There is room for him to improve. He’s still young and if he can get his average to around 60% which is what it was the season before last – he’d still be a fantastic addition.

The only question now remains is whether Michael Edwards and co. believe Guehi has the potential to reach those figures, and whether he is worth the £60m price tag. Only time will tell.