Liverpool turn to ‘top defender’ in La Liga as chance of Guehi deal ‘increasingly remote’

Liverpool have turned their attention to Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo with a number of clubs eyeing top target Marc Guehi, according to reports.

The Reds had a brilliant summer transfer window with Arne Slot’s reward for winning the Premier League title being eight new signings.

As well as two back-up goalkeepers, Liverpool brought in Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giovanni Leoni.

But they failed to put the icing on the cake on deadline day as Crystal Palace pulled the plug on a deal for Guehi while the England international was in the middle of his medical ahead of a move to Anfield.

Liverpool are still interested in bringing in Guehi but they now face increased competition with the Palace captain coming to the end of his contract at the end of the season.

That means foreign clubs can negotiate a pre-contract agreement with the England centre-back in January, while Liverpool would have to wait until closer to the end of his deal.

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There have been rumours that Liverpool will have to pay anywhere between £25m and £50m for Guehi in the winter and now Football Insider claim that European giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich ‘have joined the race’.

The report adds: ‘The Euro giants have registered their interest in the centre-back, 25, and have made it clear they want to sign him in January.

‘Real Madrid are also keen on Guehi, as the possibility of him joining Liverpool next year appears increasingly remote.’

And Football Insider transfer correspondent Pete O’Rourke insists that Liverpool have Barcelona centre-back Araujo on their list of alternatives.

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O’Rourke said: “Araujo is a top defender at Barcelona, an Uruguay international as well.

“He’s on the list of a number of clubs as well as Liverpool because he is one of the best young defenders in Europe, it’ll be real difficult deal for them to do.

“As I said, he’s a key man for Barcelona. He’s under contract until 2031. So they would be looking to command a huge fee to consider selling Araujo as well.

“A lot would depend on whether Barcelona’s financial situation is sorted or not, or whether Barcelona need to raise funds and then they might have to cash in on something like Araujo.

“But yeah, I think right now Liverpool are still concentrating on getting the deal done for Marc Guehi as they look to bring in a new centre back.”