Liverpool told not to sign Antoine Semenyo as they ‘need’ a different player in January

Former Chelsea and West Ham defender Scott Minto insists Liverpool “need” to sign Marc Guehi more than Antoine Semenyo in the January transfer window.

The Reds spent more than any other club in Europe over the summer transfer window as the Liverpool hierarchy looked to back Arne Slot after the Dutchman won the Premier League title in his first season at Anfield.

Liverpool forked out over £400m over the summer with big-name signings like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak joining and there are rumours that they could spend again in January.

Bournemouth and Ghana winger Semenyo, who has a £65m release clause in his contract, has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool as the Reds look for more competition in their forward areas.

However, Minto reckons Crystal Palace defender Guehi – whose transfer to Liverpool fell through late in the summer – is more of a priority than Semenyo.

Minto said on talkSPORT: “On Semenyo, and I’ve spoken to people about him, and they say he’s a fantastic guy, fantastic personality.

READ: It is now or never for Liverpool’s title bid and Arne Slot’s Anfield career

“He’s powerful, he’s balanced, he’s strong, he’s skilful, he’s both-footed. He wants to watch his clips back, so he wants to try and get better and better and better.

“He’s happy to keep his width and understands the tactical side of the game, and to be quite contemporary as well. He has a long throw in him.

“So he’s an excellent player, but I don’t think that’s what Liverpool need. I think they need Marc Guehi. That’s what I feel they need.

“They needed him in the summer, and I think they need him even more now.

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“If I were Palace, I’d be holding on like anything and letting him go on a free, because I believe they’ve got a great chance of winning the Conference League, and what a historic season that would be again for them.

“And every position they finish high is £2.5million, £3million, so they can claw back some money they could possibly get there.

“For me, that’s someone like him to shore up the defence, to make it look as if they’re a little bit stronger.”

When asked about potential January transfer window additions at centre-back, Slot told a press conference on Friday: “This is one of the questions I didn’t expect. There are so many games before that.

“In the position that we are in, it’s the last thing on my mind. Maybe not for Richard [Hughes, sporting director] but it’s not a topic at all for me at the moment.

“We have three centre-backs, maybe Ryan [Gravenberch] and Wata [Endo] as well. Maybe you are not aware of it yet, but we have other positions that are maybe more of an issue.”