Sky reporter: Arne Slot could be faced with big ‘conundrum’ if Liverpool sign Marc Guehi | OneFootball

Marc Guehi would be the perfect signing for Liverpool this month in so many ways, although one journalist has warned that such a transfer could present a tricky ‘conundrum’ for Arne Slot.

As reported by Paul Joyce on Tuesday, the Reds are now in talks with Crystal Palace over a potential £35m deal for the Eagles defender, who’s understood to be in favour of a move to Anfield provided that he can enjoy regular game-time.

The Merseysiders boast one of the Premier League’s best centre-back partnerships in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, but with Joe Gomez the only senior option in that position, squad depth is a glaring issue for the champions of England just two days out from the start of the new top-flight season.

Could Guehi prompt a rethink from Slot if Liverpool sign him?

In an analysis piece for Sky Sports, Peter Smith made the argument that, if Liverpool were to sign Guehi, it’d require either him or Van Dijk to deviate from their usual left-sided centre-back role, or else force Slot to consider a drastic change of formation to utilising a back three.

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The journalist wrote: ‘Where Guehi would actually fit into Liverpool’s team is not quite so straightforward.

“Guehi plays on the left of a back three at Crystal Palace. He has shown with England he can play on the left side of a back four – the preferred set-up at Liverpool and of Slot – but that is where captain Virgil van Dijk plays. The Dutchman started 37 of 38 Premier League games last season.

‘The assumption seems to be that Guehi would play alongside Van Dijk, in place of Ibrahima Konate, who only has a year to run on his own Liverpool deal. Being a right-footer, it’s not a huge leap for Guehi but does require some adaptation – and breaks up a championship-winning partnership.’

Smith continued: ‘A creative alternative could be for Slot to turn to an unfamiliar back three, with Guehi remaining in his favoured left-side role, Van Dijk orchestrating affairs from the centre, and Konate protecting the right channel, as he is skilled to do.

‘That could also help rebalance a Liverpool defence which Slot admitted needed “adjustment” after they were opened up through pre-season, with the adventurous new signings Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong leaving the centre-backs vulnerable.

‘Any which way, it requires a shift from Guehi or Liverpool – but it could be a conundrum both the player and Premier League champions believe is worth taking on.’

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Guehi would afford Slot the luxury of tactical flexibility

Smith presents a cogent argument about the need for some adjustment at Liverpool if we are to sign Guehi, but you can be sure that everyone involved in the decision-making process at Anfield would already have been fully aware of that before entering into negotiations with Crystal Palace.

Would the 25-year-old come in and simply displace Konate in Slot’s preferred back four, or might the head coach need to find a way to include all three centre-backs, in turn seeing him deviate from his customary 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3 with Frimpong and Kerkez as wing-backs?

None of the three would take kindly to warming the bench if the Reds boss sticks with his preferred formation, but starting all of them regularly would require a significant alteration to how the team plays and would still leave only Joe Gomez as backup, unless we were to also sign Giovanni Leoni from Parma.

On the positive side, one way to look at it is that signing Guehi could present the Liverpool head coach with greater tactical flexibility, depending on player availability throughout his defence and the opponents’ style of play for a particular match.

It’s certainly preferable for Slot to be left with the pleasant selection headache of trying to decide between which centre-backs to start, than to contend with the prospect of involuntarily placing square pegs in round holes as he did with Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas and Trey Nyoni in pre-season.