Liverpool will not revisit their interest in Marc Guéhi in January and will only now seek to sign the Crystal Palace centre back on a free transfer next summer.
A £35million move to Anfield for the England defender collapsed on deadline day when Palace chairman, Steve Parish, pulled the plug on the deal at the eleventh hour after failing to secure a replacement.
Guéhi, 25, had completed a medical and was left angry at the development having informed Palace of his desire to join the Premier League champions.
He will have to wait until next summer in order to do so now with Liverpool adamant they will not dip into the market in January for a player who has entered the final year of his contract and will not sign an extension.
If Guéhi’s ambition to move to Arne Slot’s side holds firm then Parish will see the player leave for nothing having previously said that would pose a financial “problem” for the club.
Parish had spoken to Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes after the Community Shield game between the clubs at the start of August and was informed of their £35million valuation.
Silence then ensued, with Liverpool subsequently tabling a bid for that amount, plus a 10 per cent sell-on clause on August 30.
Guéhi, right, joined Palace on a five-year deal from Chelsea in 2021
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BRADLEY ORMESHER
That proved acceptable for Parish, only for a U-turn to then take place when he came under pressure from manager Oliver Glasner, as Brighton & Hove Albion defender Igor Julio backed out of a switch to Palace.
Liverpool’s complement of centre backs was already strong with a £26million deal for Parma’s Giovanni Leoni, 18, ending a three-year search for a young talent that they can develop.
Interest from AC Milan and Brighton in Joe Gomez on deadline day — the Serie A side had proposed a €15million (about £13million) deal — was not allowed to progress, and so with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté in situ there is no sense that they are understrength in that department.
However, Konaté’s future remains uncertain. The France defender has entered the final year of his own deal and long-standing attempts to persuade him to sign a new contract remain at an impasse.
Real Madrid have been identified as potential suitors next summer and, while Liverpool do not want to lose the player, they will not beg anyone to remain at Anfield.