Why didn't Marc Guehi join Liverpool? Collapse of Crystal Palace captain's £35m transfer explained

Dom Farrell

Why didn't Marc Guehi join Liverpool? Collapse of Crystal Palace captain's £35m transfer explained image

By any measure, Premier League champions Liverpool have had enjoyed a seismic transfer window.

The Reds broke the British transfer record with the £116million caption of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen and will do so again once their £130m swoop for Alexander Isak is confirmed.

Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez have arrived as highly touted full-back upgrades, while £26m Parma centre-back Giovanni Leoni is here for both now and the long-term future.

The Anfield club have also sold well, with Harvey Elliott set to join Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez doing their bit to recoup some of an outlay that will surpass £400m.

England defender Marc Guehi was set to address one of Arne Slot's few areas of need at centre-back but his move from Crystal Palace was pushed right to the wire on deadline day. In the end, it fell through, leaving Liverpool with one position a bit thinner than the rest for the road ahead.

MORE: Transfer deadline day live: Latest done deals, news and rumours as Isak deal close, Guehi to Liverpool off

Why didn't Marc Guehi sign for Liverpool?

The 25-year-old was as close to signing for Liverpool as you can get without actually doing so, but Palace's failure to secure a replacement saw them pull the plug.

Guehi was poised to complete a £35m switch and had completed a medical. A deal sheet was submitted to the Premier League, which extended the deadline for a completed deal by two hours.

However, Igor Julio's decision to join West Ham and not Palace from Brighton meant the Eagles did not feel they had adequate central defensive cover.

Will Oliver Glasner quit Crystal Palace?

Crystal Palace's FA Cup-winning manager Oliver Glasner made it clear he did not want Guehi to leave Selhurst Park and there were reports he might walk away in the event of a sale.

Palace might still face a fight to keep their boss following Bayer Leverkusen's decision to sack Erik ten Hag, as per The Mirror.

Speaking after Palace's impressive 3-0 win at Aston Villa on Sunday, Glasner told Sky Sports: "We have to [keep Guehi] if we want to play a successful season. If we don't have the right replacement for me it's clear to keep him."

Marc Guehi's Crystal Palace contract

Guehi's contract runs until June 2026, meaning he only has a year left on his deal.

Keeping their captain now means Palace run the risk of losing him for free next summer, which Liverpool or other suitors could come in with cut-price bids in January.

Palace have already sold their FA Cup final match-winner Eberechi Eze to Arsenal in a deal worth £67.5m this summer.

Eberechi Eze

What is a transfer deal sheet?

A deal sheet is a mechanism to give clubs a little extra time to get transfers done on deadline day.

If a transfer is expected to be secured within the final two hours of the transfer window — 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the instance of September 1, 2025 — teams must submit a deal sheet to the Premier League.

The form shows that an agreement has been reached between the clubs and it gives them two more hours to submit the relevant documentation.

If the Premier League did not receive that by 9 p.m. on September 1, the transfer in question will not be able to go ahead.

Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.