Arne Slot confirms he is still interested in signing defender Marc Guehi

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that the Reds came agonisingly close to signing Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi this summer, but the deal ultimately collapsed in the final hours of the transfer window.

Slot, speaking at a pre-Burnley press conference, was frank about how things almost came together yet for one reason or another did not.

Liverpool had agreed on a fee in the region of £35 million with Crystal Palace, and a deal sheet had even been submitted before the deadline. Guehi, 25, was poised to make the move to Anfield.

Arne Slot is still tracking Marc Guehi

However, despite those arrangements, Palace decided in the end not to sell. Slot admitted that although the collapse was disappointing, such twists are part of the transfer game.

Slot said, as reported by Empire of the Kop:

“I think it would be ridiculous if I’m going to deny we were close to signing [Guehi], that is so out in the open that that would be ridiculous.

“These things happen in football… in the last moment, things change. This can happen.”

Although Slot admitted Guehi almost joined the Reds, he praised the current defensive options he has in his squad:

“For me, we would like to sign him of course, because we were in for him,” he continued.

“But we played Arsenal where Virgil and Ibou played an outstanding game and Joe came in 20 minutes before the end and did outstanding as well.”

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What next for Guehi?

Still, the collapse has left both club and player in an awkward place. Guehi has reportedly been left extremely unhappy with how close the deal got before being pulled at the last minute.

He had travelled for a medical and everything seemed in order, only for Palace to withdraw their sanction when they were unable to secure an adequate replacement for their captain.

With his contract entering its final year, speculation is already mounting over when and how Liverpool, or possibly other clubs, might make another run to secure Guehi’s services.

January appears a possibility, though many sources suggest that a move on a free transfer in the summer of 2026 may be more realistic, especially if Palace are unwilling or unable to meet the player’s ambitions.

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