Real Madrid and Barcelona to enter Guehi race, but should Liverpool be worried? – Soccer News

According to Sport, Real Madrid and Barcelona are both ready to enter the race for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, who is set to become a free agent when his contract expires next summer.

Guehi has made his wish to leave Palace known and was a subject of strong interest from Liverpool throughout the summer. The two clubs had agreed on a transfer fee and he had completed his medical on Deadline Day, before Palace withdrew their approval due to their attempt at securing a replacement failing at the eleventh hour.

From that moment on, it was only expected that Real Madrid and Barcelona, known for their tendency to use their respective reputations to attract top talent on free transfers, would raise their eyebrows and step into the fray.

Liverpool, however, remain interested in Guehi and have reason to be confident, given that the England international had already agreed to come to Anfield. To counter any interference from Spain, they may even be willing to pay a fee in order to get the business done in January.

But if Guehi does end up at Liverpool, Real are expected to move for Ibrahima Konate, also set to become a free agent next summer at this point, though he has been presented with a fresh offer of a new contract by the Premier League champions.

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Real have already dealt Liverpool a heavy blow at the end of last season, when they signed Trent Alexander-Arnold for free. Liverpool did eventually extract a small fee for Real to have the right-back available to play at the FIFA Club World Cup, but that’s obviously small consolation for the Merseysiders losing their vice-captain in such a manner.

Still, it appears times are changing for Liverpool – the fact that Guehi had rejected all other interest to join them speaks for itself, not to mention the prolongued saga which eventually saw Alexander Isak, second only to Mohamed Salah in goalscoring terms last season, leave Newcastle and join Liverpool. It should also be said that Florian Wirtz rejected Bayern Munich and showed no interest in early whispers of Real Madrid – he only had eyes for Liverpool. Parma had rejected several approaches for teenage defender Giovanni Leoni according to their sporting director, but when Liverpool came calling, they bowed and agreed to sell.

Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool were the only team to have disturbed Manchester City’s rule over English football by winning the 2019/20 Premier League title, and they played in three Champions League finals, winning the one in 2019. Having replaced the charismatic German in the Anfield dugout, Arne Slot obviously faced immense pressure to fill the void, but he delivered in the best possible way in his first season, leading his team to the record-equalling 20th league title.

There is still work to do for CEO Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes, as the departure of Alexander-Arnold and the ongoing issue with Konate show, but there is also plenty of evidence that many top players see Liverpool as that final piece of the puzzle in their careers. As opposed to the decades preceding this era of success, they are aware that they can win it all – at Liverpool.

So should Liverpool be worried about Real Madrid and Barcelona trying to lure Guehi away from England?

Not at all. If Guehi eludes their grasp and falls for the charms of Spain, there will be other top defenders ready to grab the opportunity to play at Anfield.