Marc Guehi is Liverpool’s ideal Virgil van Dijk replacement: Reds should be doing all they can to sign Crystal Palace star

Marc Guehi never wants to be noticed. “If a defender can go in a game and seem to be doing absolutely nothing, then he is doing absolutely everything right,” he once said. “Obviously, there are times when you might have to make a last-minute tackle because of whatever is happening, but if I can avoid being seen in a game, as crazy as it sounds, I am doing my job.”

The thing is, though, Guehi is attracting an awful lot of attention precisely because he’s perfected the art of invisibility on a football field. An awful lot of eyes will certainly be fixed on the Crystal Palace centre-back this weekend, because while Premier League leaders Liverpool may be the star attraction at Selhurst Park, Guehi will also come under intense scrutiny.

The Reds may boast the meanest defence in England’s top flight right now, but 33-year-old captain Virgil van Dijk is out of contract at the end of the season, meaning a worthy successor will need to be found sooner rather than later. Guehi should be at the top of their shortlist.

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  ‘Didn’t put a foot wrong’

  Guehi is not especially tall (precisely six foot), and relatively small centre-backs have long been treated with suspicion in English football – just look at the way in which Jamie Carragher quickly went after Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez (5’9) after the Argentine’s arrival from Ajax.

  Former England coach Gareth Southgate admitted that he wasn’t entirely sure how Guehi would cope with the aerial threat posed by Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic in their Euro 2024 opener in Gelsenkirchen in June. He need not have worried, though. Guehi was immense on the night. As Southgate said, “he dealt really well” with every cross Serbia launched into the England area, while there wasn’t a hint of nerves on what was Guehi’s first ever appearance at a major international tournament – much to the astonishment of veteran defender Kyle Walker.

  “I’m the oldest head in the camp and I still go out onto the pitch and you still feel a bit anxious, just because you want to do everyone proud,” the Manchester City ace told reporters. “So, there’s going to be pressure. But Marc, from the moment he stepped into the camp, he properly stepped into his role, and I thought he was fantastic. He didn’t put foot wrong and hopefully we can form a good partnership along that back-line.”

  England did exactly that in Germany.

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    ‘Like gold dust’

    While England’s forward line repeatedly malfunctioned at the Euros, the backline was brilliant, with Guehi slotting seamlessly into the centre of defence in the absence of the injured Harry Maguire and immediately striking up a fantastic understanding with John Stones.

    Consequently, while Bukayo Saka may have generated more headlines during the tournament, the common consensus was that the unassuming Guehi was easily England’s most consistent performer, impressing everyone with his maturity and composure in possession.

    “He’s proven that he’s a very good player,” former Three Lions striker Michael Owen told Prime Casino. “And left-sided centre-halves are like gold dust these days, people want them.” Including those working in the recruitment department at Liverpool.

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      Ongoing search

      Liverpool have been long been tipped to sign a left-sided centre-back, but some of their rumoured targets, such as Micky van de Ven (Tottenham) and Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City), have already been snapped up by Premier League rivals. In addition, Chelsea have repeatedly rebuffed the Reds’ approaches for Levi Colwill, while there’s still no indication that Everton would even entertain the idea of selling Jarrad Branthwaite to their city rivals.

      The names of Goncalo Inacio and Piero Hincapie are still being bandied about, but no deal is apparently imminent – which is a source of ever-growing concern on account of Van Dijk’s advancing years and expiring contract.

      Of course, the incredibly versatile Joe Gomez provides decent cover, but you’d be hard pressed to find a Red who believes the 27-year-old is Van Dijk’s long-term successor. The club clearly don’t believe that either, given they were reportedly willing to sell Gomez to Newcastle during the summer in order to get their hands on Magpies winger Anthony Gordon.

      In the end, that proposed transfer collapsed as Newcastle managed to resolve their financial issues relating to the Premier League’s Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) and spent the final few weeks of the summer window trying to sign Guehi themselves.

      Luckily for Liverpool, Palace refused to sell, and the word is that Guehi would favour a move to Anfield over St. James’ Park. However, that doesn’t mean it will be any easier for the Reds to convince Palace chairman Steve Parish to part with arguably their most prized possession.

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      ‘Need to pay superstar money’

      At one point, it only seemed like a matter of time before Newcastle concluded a deal for Guehi, but Parish stood firm, stating “Nobody has got to the valuation yet” – and the magic number was widely believed to be £70m ($90m).

      The Palace supremo even told Sky Sports: “If you want a superstar player, you need to pay superstar money… We love having Marc and would love to keep him. If someone else wants to have him, they need to make it really difficult for us. He’s a generational talent.”

      Not everyone is quite so sure, though. Carragher, for one, has publicly questioned whether Guehi, who has two years left on his Palace contract, is really worth what Palace are demanding.

      “I mean, we are talking about £70 million,” the former Liverpool defender said on Sky. “I think he is a really good player. I wouldn’t pay £70 million for him, though… because that is top dollar.”

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        ‘Brick wall’

        All of the evidence suggests, though, that Guehi would prove money well spent – or at the very least a lower-risk option than some of the other centre-backs Liverpool are said to be considering signing. There’s never anything to be gained from adopting an insular approach to recruitment, but it is unquestionably a tick in Guehi’s favour that he has already proven he can cope with the pace and physicality of the Premier League.

        Former England Under-21s team-mates have compared him to a “tank” and a “brick wall”, while ex-Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher pointed out, “You can’t get round Marc and you can’t move him either.”

        It’s a problem that even Ivan Toney, one of the strongest forwards in the Premier League, has failed to figure out, with the Brentford ace admitting during the summer, “Sometimes I’d just drift to the other side of the pitch when he’s playing.”

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        ‘Huge leap’

        Obviously, Guehi is not as physically imposing as the 6’5 Van Dijk, who is the most dominant defender in the air in the game today. However, as former Chelsea academy scout Michael Beale has previously pointed out, Guehi “has a huge leap”, which is underlined by the fact that he ranks third for aerial duels won in the Premier League so far this season, with 21 – just one fewer than co-leaders Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.

        Guehi has also made more clearances than anyone else (40) across the entire division, and won more blocks (seven) and duels (33) than either of Liverpool’s first-choice centre-backs. One could obviously argue that the greater amount of pressure Palace come under in games is a factor in those superior stats, but that only makes it all the more impressive that he’s committed just one foul in six games for a winless team. Also, when it comes to distribution, no defender has completed more long passes in 2024-25 (37 – 15 more than Trent Alexander-Arnold!).

        In Guehi, then, we really are talking about a centre-back that could end up rivalling Van Dijk when it comes to not only strength, but also the smoothness and efficiency of his defensive work.

        So, while nearly all eyes will be on Liverpool at Selhurst Park on Saturday as they attempt to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table, one can be sure that another anonymous display from Guehi won’t go unnoticed by the visitors’ recruitment team.