Report: Reasons Liverpool chose not to revisit Guehi move this month after summer deadline-day breakdown

After months of being heavily linked with a move to Anfield, Marc Guehi now looks set to join Manchester City instead of Liverpool.
Fabrizio Romano broke the news on Friday afternoon that Pep Guardiola’s side have seen a £20m bid accepted by Crystal Palace. talkSPORT’s Alex Crook later added via X that the England centre-back is expected to earn an eye-watering salary of around £300,000 per week.
Last summer, Liverpool believed they had secured the 25-year-old after agreeing a £35m fee with Palace, only for the deal to collapse late on deadline day when the London club ran out of time to line up a replacement.
Why Liverpool didn’t revive their interest in January
Unsurprisingly, the outcome of the Guehi saga has left many Liverpool supporters furious, and fresh details from a trusted local outlet have only deepened that frustration.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Anfield decision-makers did not see January as a viable market opportunity to sign the Palace captain compared to last summer or the upcoming window, and were therefore unwilling to make a late attempt to hijack City’s move.
A costly stance for Liverpool
It feels baffling that Liverpool were ready to pay £35m for Guehi just a few months ago, yet showed no appetite to act this month when City have managed to strike a deal for roughly £20m.
With Guehi’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, FSG may have hoped to wait it out and land him on a free in the summer. However, that strategy always carried the risk that another club would move decisively first — which is exactly what has happened.
While it’s understandable that Liverpool wouldn’t match City’s reported £300k-per-week wages — with only two players at the club earning more, according to Capology — the real disappointment is that the club didn’t even test the waters in January.
Had sporting director Richard Hughes made an attempt only to be outmuscled financially, supporters might have accepted the outcome. Instead, no such effort was made.
Liverpool’s transfer record in recent years has generally been strong, with several past “missed targets” later proving to be blessings in disguise.
Supporters can only hope that missing out on the City-bound defender will eventually be viewed in the same light — and that, crucially, the club responds swiftly by securing an alternative centre-back in the near future.