“Reportedly… Crystal Palace tempt Liverpool with Marc Guehi as a bargaining chip”

After much anticipation, Liverpool have finally made their move to sign Marc Guehi, and Crystal Palace have promptly reacted.

The Reds, who have been linked with the defender throughout the summer, submitted a formal £35 million bid on Saturday evening (The Athletic). Guehi, 25, is reportedly willing to join Liverpool if Palace approve the deal, and the south London club have now set out the conditions under which they’d consider selling their player to the Premier League champions.

Palace respond to Liverpool’s Guehi bid with a counter offer
According to The Guardian, Palace have declined Liverpool’s initial offer but have presented a counter proposal. This includes an extra £5 million in bonuses plus a 10% sell-on clause in addition to the £35 million already offered.

Journalist Ed Aarons shared on X: “Told that Palace want another £5m in bonuses and 10% sell-on clause for Guehi, who is keen to join Liverpool.” Despite Eagles manager Oliver Glasner stating on Friday that Guehi “has to” stay at Selhurst Park past the transfer deadline, the club’s leadership is reportedly willing to let the defender go if their valuation is met.

Liverpool don’t need to stretch too far to seal the Guehi deal
Unlike Newcastle’s outright rejection of Liverpool’s initial bid for Alexander Isak earlier this month, Palace’s counter offer suggests a deal is still very much on the table — requiring only a small increase from Liverpool’s opening offer.

The Eagles haven’t issued a definitive refusal and could soon bring in a replacement centre-back in Jaydee Canvot, with a £23.4 million deal agreed with Toulouse (The Guardian).

Although reports indicate Liverpool provided Fredrikstad manager Andreas Hagen with tactical analysis on Palace ahead of their recent Conference League play-off, the two clubs maintain a “healthy relationship,” which has fostered “cordial talks” over Guehi’s potential transfer (The Athletic).

Palace’s counteroffer signals that an agreement is attainable if Liverpool are willing to meet the outlined terms, which don’t seem prohibitive given the Reds’ initial £35 million bid.

With Giovanni Leoni already signed this month, manager Arne Slot would still benefit from adding another strong, Premier League-experienced centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Guehi meets Liverpool’s key criteria on multiple fronts — age, experience, leadership, homegrown status, and skill set. Richard Hughes should push for an improved offer that satisfies Palace’s conditions. Surely, this can be done before tomorrow’s 7pm deadline?